A REPERFUSION INTERVAL REDUCES THE CONTRACTILE DEFICIT IN SKELETAL-MUSCLE FOLLOWING TOURNIQUET ISCHEMIA

Bloodless surgical procedures on the extremities are achieved by appli cation of a pneumatic tourniquet. The ischemia produced has deleteriou s effects on nerve and muscle function. It has been suggested that tem porary interruption of ischemia by a reperfusion interval can prevent muscle and nerve injury. We investigated the muscle and nerve response to 3 hours of tourniquet ischemia, with and without a reperfusion int erval after the first 2 hours of application, in a rodent model. Morph ometric, contractile, and histologic parameters were measured. Tourniq uet ischemia, with and without a reperfusion interval, results in musc le injury and a transient depression of muscle function. Introduction of a reperfusion interval reduces the severity of injury and increases the early rate of recovery. However, the later stages of recovery app ear to be unaffected by reperfusion.