Blood Clots and Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

Dan Frith

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

It seems that as I get older I know more and more people who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery. I have a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in joint replacement surgery and he is always busy performing these procedures.

Joint replacement surgery is a great innovation in medicine but it is not without risks and one of the most significant risks is the development of post-operative blood clots (thromboses). Blood clots can develop in the legs and travel to the lungs (called a pulmonary embolism) resulting in death.

A recent Canadian study has found that treatments recommended to prevent blood clots are usually NOT administered to hip and knee replacement patients! The study also revealed that patients who received post-discharge treatments to prevent blood clots had a lower risk of death. Read the article for yourself.

My question: Why do orthopedic surgeons fail to provide their patients with treatment to reduce this known risk?