Patient complaints after being in stirrups

Specialties Operating Room

Published

For routine foot surgery, bunionectomy, hammer toe, etc., on one foot. Are stirrups routinely used? If so, are both legs usually placed in stirrups, or can somehow just the foot being operated on be in the stirrup and the other lie flat?

When stirrups are used, even for gyn procedures, what can the circulator do to be sure the legs are properly positioned, i.e, the patient doesn't complain of soreness in the groin area or the non operated leg feeling funny, numb, sore, afterwards?

Poochiewoochie

178 Posts

Both times when I had foot surgery I never was in stirrups. I woke up and I was just flat on the table.

Specializes in APRN, ACNP-BC, CNOR, RNFA.

I've worked a lot of places, as a scrub tech first, then as an OR nurse. I've NEVER seen foot surgery done in a stirrup. You use an ankle distractor in ankle arthroscopies, and it looks a little like a stirrup, that's it. Sometimes nurses use leg holders to hold the leg while they prep, but the leg is taken out of the holder when draped.

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Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN

6 Articles; 11,658 Posts

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I've only seen foot surgery done either prone or supine depending on the area being worked on. We do have a few ortho docs who will drop the foot of the bed for a knee scope, and the non operative leg is in a stirrup.

ShariDCST

181 Posts

Specializes in CST in general surgery, LDRs, & podiatry.

I was a CST for a group of 12 Podiatric Surgeons at their surgery center for over 5.years, and for the procedures you mentioned, no stirrup was ever used. In fact, it would have made the whole procedure very awkward and clumsy, and would have served no purpose at all. An ankle distractor, as previously mentioned, was used for ankle arthroscopies, but no stirrups were used for anything procedure-related.

ORoxyO

267 Posts

Never used stirrups for podiatry. For gyn, we make sure the patient is padded, in good alignment, and the legs are not being pulled but resting instead. Not sure if there are patients complaints afterwords....that has never come back to me in the OR.

Occasionally we will use a stirrup for the non-operative leg in ortho if it is going to be a long case and the doc wants to drop the foot of the bed. It supports the non-op leg better than just hanging with a pillow under it.

brownbook

3,413 Posts

Thanks to all.....I work. PACU in out patient surgery. I relieved a co-worker for lunch. The elderly patient had minor surgery on her left foot. She starts asking me why she couldn't move or fell her right leg?

I thought....but didn't say......I have no idea. A few minutes later I helped her get on the bed pan, she bent her right leg quite easily by herself, pushed her bottom up so I could place the bed pan etc. Then since she missed the bed pan, I helped her move to a bed side chair, which she managed with minimal assistance.

I seriously doubt anything was wrong. She was a little odd mentally and emotionally.

I just wondered if there was some positioning factor in OR to explain it, but apparently not!

ORoxyO

267 Posts

Sounds like she got a block.

ComeTogether, LPN

1 Article; 2,178 Posts

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

OMG y'all just freaked me out. I just had surgery on my heel and I was thinking "STIRRUPS??? THEY MADE ME TAKE OFF MY UNDERWEAR!!' Praying my podiatrist didn't get a free show!! How embarrassing! he he. No really, I think I was dorsal on the table.

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