What You Need to Know About Hip Replacement and DVT

Everydayhealth.com—September 30, 2014

Every year about 332,000 Americans have a hip replaced, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The surgery puts each one of them at risk for a dangerous blood clot.

You can develop a blood clot, called a thrombosis, in the deep veins of your body after undergoing any surgery. Joint replacement surgery puts patients at slightly higher risk, says Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

Deep Vein Thrombosis After Hip Surgery

The risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after hip surgery is slightly higher because of a combination of factors. Dr. Gonzalez Della Valle says. One is the way your surgeon must manipulate your bones to place the new joint. This “can force bone marrow into your venous system, which activates coagulation, and so you can form blood clots,” he says.

Read the full article on Everydayhealth.com.