Compartment syndrome of the leg in the coagulopathic, end-stage liver disease patient: Fasciotomy is not the best answer

Delayed Presentation of Acute Compartment Syndrome After Isolated Closed Fibular Shaft Fracture: A Case Report

Post-traumatic compartment syndrome in the lower extremity has been commonly associated with fractures of the tibia. Only in rare cases, this critical condition might be related to isolated fibular fractures. We present a rare case of delayed onset of acute compartment syndrome after a solitary fracture of the fibula. A 40-year-old man with a history of coagulation disorders due to hepatic cirrhosis was admitted to a neighboring hospital after a car accident with left-sided fractures to ribs 9 and 10 and a transverse fracture in the mid-shaft of the left fibula. He was discharged from the hospital five days later with a posterior long leg splint and anticoagulant therapy. However, three days after discharge, he was seen in the emergency department of our hospital with severe pain and extensive swelling in the left leg. Weak posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis pulse in the right foot were detected. Moreover, sensory disturbances were found in the tibia and foot. Passive hallux dorsiflexion and plantar flexion were causing acute intense pain. A triplex ultrasound was negative for deep vein thrombosis. Apart from the clinical findings, the diagnosis of compartment syndrome was confirmed after evaluating intracompartment pressure measurements. The patient was taken emergently to the operating room for four-compartment fasciotomies. A large intramuscular hematoma was evacuated. Skin closure was accomplished in two stages within two weeks. Six weeks postoperatively, there was no sign of compartment syndrome sequelae and the patient was free of symptoms without any neurovascular deficiency in the operated limb and walked without crutches. Ten weeks later, he returned to his pre-injury daily activities. Although the majority of compartment syndrome cases are reported after high-energy trauma, patients with both coagulation disturbances and anticoagulation treatment are at higher risk of developing compartment syndrome secondary to simple fracture patterns.

Upper Extremity Compartment Syndrome Following Radial Artery Puncture in a Patient Undergoing Orthotopic Liver Transplant

Acute compartment syndrome is the physiologic consequence of increasing pressures within an enclosed anatomic space; if left untreated, it can subsequently cause irreversible necrosis, nerve injury, and tissue damage. A number of iatrogenic causes have been reported in the literature; however, to the best of our knowledge, there are no prior reports of upper extremity compartment syndrome in orthotopic liver transplant following arterial line placement. Here, we report a 52-year-old male with a history of end-stage liver disease secondary to primary sclerosing cho-langitis who presented for orthotopic liver transplant. A radial arterial line with 20-gauge catheter was placed atraumatically without complication. Intraoperatively, the patient developed severe coagulopathy. The cause was likely multifactorial, including dilution of factors from the massive blood loss during the dissection phase, a prolonged anhepatic period, and delayed graft function, resulting in decreased production of coagulation factors. This consumptive process likely subjected minor vascular injury to potential bleeding and caused a slow cumulative bleed into the right forearm, resulting in compartment syndrome. This case exemplifies the complications that can occur from arterial line placement in a liver transplant recipient who develops severe intraoperative coagulopathy. This can arguably be extrapolated to any situation caused by significant dilutional coagulopathy or a consumptive process, such as disseminated intra-vascular coagulation. As such, when large-volume blood transfusions are anticipated, we recommend that all central venous and arterial accesses be obtained under ultraso-nographic guidance and that frequent extremity physical examinations should be performed at a minimum of every hour. Correcting the underlying coagulopathy is imperative to resolve ongoing bleeding, a high index of suspicion is warranted, and immediate diagnosis and therapy are integral to improving patient outcomes.