A 44-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with dengue fever. She developed a haematoma in the right arm at the site of a previous arterial line insertion. Due to coexisting thrombocytopenia, the bleeding was severe enough to cause compartment syndrome. An emergency fasciotomy was performed and her limb salvaged. The case illustrates one important potential complication of this common infectious disease.
We report a case of a 12-year-old boy with acute compartment syndrome of the foot following a road-traffic accident. Due to the rarity of the injury, there was a delay in diagnosing the injury. An emergency fasciotomy was performed 19 hours after the injury. The foot healed with a mild extension contracture of the second toe.
Arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction carries some risk of complications, including injury to the neurovascular structures at the popliteal region. We describe a delayed presentation of the right leg and foot compartment syndrome following rupture of popliteal artery pseudoaneurysm, which presented 9 days after an arthroscopic transtibial PCL reconstructive surgery. Fasciotomy, surgical exploration, repair of an injured popliteal vein and revascularisation of the popliteal artery with autogenous great saphenous vein interposition graft were performed. Owing to the close proximity of vessels to the tibial tunnel, special care should be taken in patients who undergo arthroscopic PCL reconstruction, especially if there is extensive scarring of the posterior capsule following previous injury. Emergency fasciotomy should not be delayed and is justified when the diagnosis of compartment syndrome is clinically made.