Compartment syndrome of thigh and lower leg with disruption of the popliteal vascular bundle after being run over by a 25-ton truck

Compartment syndrome of the thigh is a rare condition, potentially resulting in devastating functional outcome. Increasing intracompartmental pressure which suppresses microcirculation and capillary perfusion may lead to cellular anoxia and muscle ischemia. The muscle compartments in the thigh have a more compliant fascia and blend anatomically into the open compartments of the pelvis, thus compensating higher volumes than the compartments in the lower leg. We present a previously unreported case in which the limb of a 36-year-old man was run over by a 25-ton truck. He presented with a sensomotor deficit in his left lower leg with full paralysis of the shank muscles and absence of all foot pulses. CT scan showed a huge haematoma in the thigh with active bleeding out of the popliteal artery into the haematoma which has already expanded into the muscle compartments of the lower leg. The limb had a disastrous compartment syndrome of the thigh and lower leg with disruption of the popliteal neurovascular bundle; however, no bones in the limb were fractured. A complete fasciotomy of all the lower limb muscle compartments was immediately performed. The artery was reconstructed with interposition of the smaller saphenous vein, which was already interrupted through the initial trauma.