Equipment malfunction in common hand surgical procedures. Complications associated with the pneumatic tourniquet and with the application of casts and splints.

Pneumatic tourniquets and plaster of Paris splints and casts are the hallmarks of hand surgery, firmly entrenched as an adjunct in the routine treatment of upper extremity disorders. Because they are usually employed with a comparative degree of safety and because they are relatively simple devices from a technologic perspective. Little is written about them in the scientific literature. In this paper we extensively review their historical developments, physiologic effects, and common complications, and we attempt to provide a rationale for their safe and effective use.