1. Introduction

    Surgical procedures on the hand or forearm may be precipitated by violent trauma resulting in complex or dislocated fractures to the bones of the forearm, hand, or fingers, or they may be performed to alleviate numbness of the hand resulting from compression of the nerves of the forearm or wrist, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Procedures on the fingers and hand are often relatively quick, requiring 1 hour or less to complete. Surgical correction of complex or dislocated fractures of the forearm may require considerable instrumentation and time to complete. For virtually all surgical procedures of the hand and forearm, a pneumatic tourniquet is used.