What should I pay attention to when using a tourniquet during surgery?

During the operation, heavy bleeding is inevitable, and a tourniquet is still needed. So what should be paid attention to when using a tourniquet during surgery? The correct method of using a tourniquet must be mastered to achieve a good hemostatic effect without adding hidden dangers to people's health and safety. For example, it is important to loosen the tourniquet regularly or avoid wound infection.

After selecting the location of the tourniquet, you should first place a cloth strip there, tighten the tourniquet, wrap it around the limb twice and tie a knot. The tightness should be appropriate, and the wound should stop bleeding. Remember the time when putting on the tourniquet. Loosen it for 1/2 minute every half hour in winter and every hour in summer, and then tie it up again. When tying again, move the part slightly up and down. Patients with severe bleeding should be sent to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible while applying a tourniquet.

Check blood circulation. After the bandage is applied, you should check your toes or fingers frequently to see if there are any dark purple spots at the ends of your fingers, and whether the body temperature in that area has dropped. If this happens, the cloth tape should be loosened, otherwise it will cause tissue necrosis over time.

Tourniquet hemostasis is a simple and effective method of hemostasis used in first aid for severe bleeding in the limbs. It achieves the purpose of hemostasis by compressing blood vessels and blocking blood flow. However, if used improperly or for too long, a tourniquet can cause ischemia and necrosis of the distal limbs, leading to disability. For this reason, a tourniquet should only be used when bleeding is severe and other methods cannot stop the bleeding.

It is better to use a rubber strip or rubber tube as a tourniquet. It is not advisable to use inelastic belts such as cloth belts and electric wires. The bandage should be placed above the wound (proximal end) and as close to the wound as possible, preferably on the upper 1/3 of the upper arm and the upper middle thigh. Tourniquets should not be placed on the calf and forearm because there are two bones there and the blood vessels run right between the two bones. The tourniquet will not compress the blood vessels. A tourniquet should not be placed on the middle 1/3 of the upper arm because it may cause nerve damage and paralysis of the arm.

Through the above introduction, everyone has a general understanding of what to pay attention to when using a tourniquet during surgery. If you do not pay attention to maintaining smooth blood circulation when using a tourniquet, it is still easy to be life-threatening. It is also necessary to control the blood flow as quickly as possible and provide targeted first aid in order to successfully overcome the difficulties.