title: Wound complications after total knee arthroplasty.
abstract: Some wound complications can be prevented with attention to patient, surgical, and postoperative factors; others develop despite all efforts. Some practices that affect wound healing, such as the use of drains and methods of thromboprophylaxis are contentious. Superficial wound problems must always be discriminated from deep infection, which is not the focus of this article. Wound complications require prompt attention. As there is little morbidity from early irrigation and debridement of problem total knee arthroplasties (Weiss AP, Krackow KA. Persistent wound drainage after primary total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 1993;8(3):285-9), early intervention is generally preferred.
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vince
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chivas
authors.forename: Kurt P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Droll
mesh_terms: D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003646:Debridement; D004322:Drainage; D006801:Humans; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects; D009336:Necrosis; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000628:therapy; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation; D014945:Wound Healing