Tourniquet Use in Total Knee Arthroplasty and Postoperative Pain

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this clinical review is to provide updates on the effect of tourniquet use in Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) and post-operative pain associated with the use of a tourniquet. Method: A PubMed, and Cochrane Library database search was conducted with search term tourniquet, use, TKA, and post-operative pain. Twenty-eight pertinent articles were retrieved and served as the basis for this clinical review. Results: There is still no consensus among the leaders in the field of Orthopedics on the use of the tourniquet during TKA and its effect on the severity of postoperative pain. Conclusion: There are pros and cons on the tourniquet use, but so far available studies were not able to find a clinically significant difference in the pain among the patients treated with and without tourniquet during their TKA. Keywords: tourniquet; use; TKA; post-operative pain