Techniques to maintain a bloodless field in lower extremity surgery.

Purpose: Most surgeons and podiatrists prefer to operate on toes and feet with a bloodless operating field. This can be achieved with a pneumatic tourniquet applied to the thigh after exsanguination of the limb with a rubber bandage or with an Esmark bandage alone, placed below the knee. A pneumatic tourniquet requires the use of general anesthesia with associated increased risks.