Esmarch bandage on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Esmarch bandage (also known as Esmarch's bandage for surgical haemostasis or Esmarch's tourniquet) in its modern form is a narrow (5 to 10 cm wide) soft rubber
Esmarch bandage (also known as Esmarch's bandage for surgical haemostasis or Esmarch's tourniquet) in its modern form is a narrow (5 to 10 cm wide) soft rubber bandage
A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to or to restrict the movement of a part of the body. When used with a dressing, the dressing is applie ...
that is used to expel venous blood from a limb (exsanguinate) that has had its arterial supply cut off by a tourniquet. The limb is often elevated as the elastic pressure is applied. The exsanguination is necessary to enable some types of delicate reconstructive surgery where bleeding would obscure the working area. A bloodless area is also required to introduce local anaesthetic agents for a regional nerve block. This method was first described by Augustus Bier in 1908.Friedrich von Esmarch
Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch (9 January 1823 – 23 February 1908) was a German surgeon. He developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the ''Deutscher Samariter-Verein'', the predecessor of the '' Deutscher Samariter-Bund''.
Life
...
, professor of surgery at the University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and is generally used in battlefield medicine
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first ...
. Esmarch himself had been Surgeon General to the German army during the Franco-German War. It consisted of a three-sided piece of linen or cotton, the base measuring 4 feet and the sides 2 feet 10 inches. It could be used folded or open, and applied in thirty-two different ways. An improved form was devised by Bernhard von Langenbeck
Bernhard Rudolf Konrad von Langenbeck (9 November 181029 September 1887) was a German surgeon known as the developer of Langenbeck's amputation and founder of ''Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery''.
Life
He was born at Padingbüttel, and recei ...
later on.
Esmarch bandages are also used by cardiac surgeons in delayed mediastinal closure for patients who have experienced certain complications post cardiac surgery (e.g. myocardial oedema or severe postoperative bleeding).
See also
*Tourniquet
A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to stop the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation.
A simple tourniquet can be made from a stick and ...
*Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
*Battlefield medicine
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first ...
General references
* Medical dressings Military medicine {{medical-equipment-stub