Circumferential Pneumatic Compression

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Abstract
Experience with an aviation antigravity garment (G-suit)1in surgery suggested that pneumatic compression applied in similar fashion to an extremity should reduce edema. Therefore, in 1952, a double-walled, inflatable sleeve was constructed of rubberized fabric and employed in a postmastectomy case. As expected, the edema was reduced, and, in addition, it was discovered that the sleeve, when inflated, became an effective splint. Furthermore, when the sleeve was applied high on the limb after the manner of the Thomas splint, traction resulted, because elongation of the sleeve during inflation exerted counterpressure against axilla or groin. When an empty arm splint, ten inches in flat width, was inflated to 30 mm Hg, this elongating force was found to measure 11 lb, and with a 15inch leg model, 24 lb; this force, like the splinting effect, is proportional to the cross-sectional area of the inflated sleeve. These observations led to efforts to

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