Had anyone ever had Compartment Syndrome?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/10/2006 06:14:43 AM · #1

I am freaking out about the possiblitly of surgery and huge scars. I thought I'd ask to see if anyone has been through it before.

Thanks,
Freaked in Guam

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

03/10/2006 06:18:55 AM · #2

never heard of it - what is it exactly?

edit: Ok, I found some info here: //orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=287&topcategory=General%20Information

Originally posted by AAOS:

Non-surgical treatment is usually effective for this condition. This includes:

Avoiding doing activities that cause pain and swelling

Applying ice and elevating the limb slightly

Taking aspirin or ibuprofen to reduce inflammation

Do not wrap the leg because this will increase the pressure and aggravate the condition. Ask your doctor if cross-training with low-impact activities is OK as long as symptoms do not return. Surgical release may be needed if conservative treatment is ineffective.

Message edited by author 2006-03-10 06:23:13.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

03/10/2006 06:21:24 AM · #3

A friend of mine had it a ways back, underwent surgery, did fine.

Here's an extensive medical page on it:

//www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic739.htm

Note that treatment protocols follow 3 steps:

1 correction of any biomechanical abnormalities
2 soft tissue therapy
3 and in severe cases not responding to the above, surgery.

Somewhat more layman-like discussion here:

//www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/cmpt.html

Robt.

Message edited by author 2006-03-10 06:24:42.

03/10/2006 06:24:14 AM · #4

Here is a website that seems to explain it well: Compartment Syndrome

Mine is the exertional/exercise induced one.

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

03/10/2006 06:27:22 AM · #5

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

A friend of mine had it a ways back, underwent surgery, did fine.

How bad do his scars look? The pics I'm finding show a slice from ankle to knee :(

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

03/10/2006 06:55:12 AM · #6

Over time the scar became virtually unnoticeable. You can see it if you look for it, but it's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer.

R.

Refwhett

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

03/10/2006 07:03:29 AM · #7

It might require a rather long scar along the leg, but it doesn't have to be that long. Depends on the extend of the muscle involvement. Exactly what they do during the operation also depends on how much damage was done to the muscle. Otherwise the healing process depends on many factor, but if you are healthy to begin with and don't get any infection in the operation wound it should only be a normal faded scar after a while.
I only have minimal xp with the acute/traumatic variety, but if surgery is first needed then I suppose it's the same procedure i.e opening the fascia to relieave the pressure in the compartment. If there is no permanent muscle damage it shouldn't be too complicated.

Message edited by author 2006-03-10 07:05:47.

Nuno

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/10/2006 08:55:47 AM · #8

Originally posted by JRalston:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:
A friend of mine had it a ways back, underwent surgery, did fine.

How bad do his scars look? The pics I'm finding show a slice from ankle to knee :(

First of all I understand your point, but you shouldn't go that way. It might save your leg, so any scar is worth it. This coulb be a life threatning situation in long term if not treated, so you must do it.

You must have done a lot of exercise to do this. It is hard to do shuch thing in an exercise that wasn't to save your life (run to save you from death for example). It is important to know if there's no other problem that can lead to this, like a deficient supply of flood to the leg. This is a rather simple surgery taht takes between 15-30 minutes and it is only to open the fascia to relief the pressure.

But talk to the doctors about you fear of having scars. they can do intradermic sutures that will be almoust unnoticeable and you don't ever have to remove stiches. Are you prone to do scars? Some people are more that others (the darker skins do more scars). The firs summer after the surgery protect well the zone with a sun block. this helps a lot not to notice the car because the scar/granulation tissue is a bit different an doesen't have many melanin (the pigment that gives color to our skin).

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/10/2006 08:58:36 AM · #9

Originally posted by JRalston:

How bad do his scars look? The pics I'm finding show a slice from ankle to knee :(

Scars are sexy!

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

03/10/2006 09:11:06 AM · #10

If the scar is noticable put a tattoo over it.

Refwhett

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

03/10/2006 09:16:59 AM · #11

Originally posted by LoudDog:

If the scar is noticable put a tattoo over it.

Can be a good idea, unforunatly tattoing over scars can make the ink diffuse in an unpredictable way.

Message edited by author 2006-03-10 09:17:22.

saracat

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

03/10/2006 09:36:39 AM · #12

Jennifer,
I think your best course of action is to talk to a surgeon and let him/her knw exactly how you feel about the scarring. There may be different ways that they can do the surgery to minimize scarring, and the probably have information on how to best reduce what scarring that may occur.
Keep in mind, too, that the scar is most visible for only a few months. After that, if you heal quickly and with no complications (and you're not prone to bad scarring), your scar(s) will fade to a thin silvery white line. Depending on the extent of the surgery, it may not even be noticable, especially after about a year.

Something else to keep in mind is that there are cosmetics that are specifically designed for hiding and camouflaging scars anywhere on the body. If you do feel self-conscious about any scarring that may result, this may be an option to look into.

There are also many scar-reducing creams and ointments that you can research; ask your surgeon if he/she has had any good experiences with them.

As far as concerns about the surgery itself, the absolute best way to deal with them is to find out everything you can about what will need to be done: non-surgical options, surgery, post-surgical care, scarring, possible complications, etc. The more you know, the less you will worry about, since your brain will be dealing with facts instead of guesses and unfounded assumptions. Any good surgeon or nurse should be happy to answer any questions you may have, even if you ask them multiple times. (I'm pretty much speaking from experience since I just had my gallbladder out a month ago. Not the same surgery, I know, but still a recent and comparable reference point.)

The longer you put off finding out what you need to know, the worse it will be. Fears have a way of building up and entrenching themselves so that we listen more to the fears than we do to what is best for us. Please, for your own peace of mind, make an appointment for at least a consultation so you can get the info you need.

If you'd like to talk, PM me.
Regards,
Sara

Mambe

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

03/10/2006 09:38:56 AM · #13

Hi !
I have had two big surgeries in my back , first time the wound opened and the scar is quite ugly , second surgery was in the same place , the second line of scar is more thin but very near the first one.
I hate them , never look at them in the mirror , never touch them (only during showers and very quickly).
Scars are not the problem for me , only the pain I feel and the strong treatment with morphine . There's no cure for what I have , it's degenerative.
Scars are only scars , life is most important.
It's good to talk about fears , talk and ask people but always keep in mind that it's better to be alive , to be quite good and to live with a scar than to be bad , or even worse but without scars.

Message edited by author 2006-03-10 09:44:50.

03/10/2006 03:19:19 PM · #14

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Over time the scar became virtually unnoticeable. You can see it if you look for it, but it's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer.

R.

That is great to hear. I already have 3 big scars on my arm from when I fractured it playing soccer. I really don't want my legs to match. Of couse, being a girl, I do not have the leg hair to disquise the scar..LOL

03/10/2006 03:26:18 PM · #15

Originally posted by Nuno:

Originally posted by JRalston:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:
A friend of mine had it a ways back, underwent surgery, did fine.

How bad do his scars look? The pics I'm finding show a slice from ankle to knee :(

First of all I understand your point, but you shouldn't go that way. It might save your leg, so any scar is worth it. This coulb be a life threatning situation in long term if not treated, so you must do it.

You must have done a lot of exercise to do this. It is hard to do shuch thing in an exercise that wasn't to save your life (run to save you from death for example). It is important to know if there's no other problem that can lead to this, like a deficient supply of flood to the leg. This is a rather simple surgery taht takes between 15-30 minutes and it is only to open the fascia to relief the pressure.

But talk to the doctors about you fear of having scars. they can do intradermic sutures that will be almoust unnoticeable and you don't ever have to remove stiches. Are you prone to do scars? Some people are more that others (the darker skins do more scars). The firs summer after the surgery protect well the zone with a sun block. this helps a lot not to notice the car because the scar/granulation tissue is a bit different an doesen't have many melanin (the pigment that gives color to our skin).

Thank you. I do have a very slight loss in pigmintation on my arm from that injury & surgery. The scar is pretty thick as well. Someone told me I had keloids or something. I am a white girl with a tan. I'll take note of the sunscreen recommendation.

I was VERY athletic growing up. I've played soccer competitively until I was 19 and still do it recreationally. It seems the problem started appearing in track when I was in middle school. I am a bit afraid that there is some muscle damage as I have had it for so long. I kept being told it was shin-spints. Soccer is so stop-go that it did't bother me, however conditioning for soccer did bother me.

03/10/2006 03:31:10 PM · #16

Thanks everyone who has responded. I will mentioned my fear of horrible scarring to the ortho dr. I don't mind a thin scar. What I am fearful of a scar like on my arm. It is 1/4in thick (and 5in long).

I'll be sure to ask lots of questions, as suggested.

I am still holding out hope that surgery is not what they are going to do, but reading online says otherwise.