Chronic venous compartment syndrome

Abstract

Various forms of compartment syndrome can now be distinguished. Acute compartment syndrome is the result of a discrepancy between the volume of the compartment and its contents. This leads to increased pressure at rest and during load, which cuts off the micro-circulation and hence destroys the intracompartmental structures. Chronic compartment syndrome had only been seen in athletes and soldiers up to now. The disease mainly affects the anterior compartment and the fibular muscle group, and only rarely the lateral muscle compartment. In the course of severe venous diseases, a chronic venous compartment syndrome develops which is fundamentally different from the clinical pictures previously known. The cicatricial destruction of the crural fascia exerts an effect on the intracompartmental pressure with every step the patient takes. In severe cases, this results in considerable changes in the muscles involving chronic ischaemia associated with necrosis and glycogen deficiency. Further investigations are necessary in order to define the clinical picture, particularly by measuring the intracompartmental pressure under dynamic and standardised conditions. We suggest also making a verbal distinction between the two forms: a chronic exertional compartmental syndrome and a chronic venous compartmental syndrome.