Abstract

Since 1986, 19 patients have been operated for chronic leg compartmental syndrome at the Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris. The physiopathology of chronic compartmental syndrome and a review of pressures reported in the literature incited the authors to consider as diagnostic criteria not only clinical signs but also systematic measurement of intramuscular pressure in the compartment affected, with a pressure above 10 mm Hg at rest and above 15 mm Hg, 15 min after exercise. Scintigraphy combined with technetium or thallium 201 was performed in 15 cases and contributed to the diagnosis in 11 cases. Among the 13 patients examined after a mean postoperative period of 2 years (range: 6 months to 5 years), 10 had recovered their best level of sporting activity on average 2 months after surgery. Verf.-Referat