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An increase in body weight puts stress on the hip, so try to maintain a healthy weight.

Potential Complications

Blood Clots

Blood clots are potential complications following hip or knee joint replacement surgery. A blood clot from your leg can travel to your lungs and cause serious health complications. Preventing a blood clot from forming is the best treatment method.

You can lower your risk of developing a blood clot by:

• Exercising and staying active (moving about).

• Taking blood thinners, such as aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin®), Lovenox, or other drugs.

• Wearing support stockings.

Some foods and supplements may alter the effectiveness of blood-thinning medications, such as foods with high amounts of vitamin K. Talk to your surgeon about certain foods to avoid while on this medication.

The symptoms of a blood clot include:

• Pain and / or redness in your calf and leg unrelated to your incision.

• Increased swelling of your thigh, calf, ankle, or foot.

• Increased skin temperature at the site of the incision.

• Shortness of breath and chest pain or pain when breathing.

If you develop any of these symptoms, go to the nearest emergency department or call 911.

Surgical Site Infection

A surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection that occurs after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place. Most patients who have surgery do not develop an infection.

Some common symptoms of surgical site infection are:

• Increased redness and pain around the area where you had surgery

• Any drainage, in particular, cloudy fluid from your surgical wound

• Fever

If any of these symptoms occur contact your surgeon’s office immediately.

Preventing Infection

Preventing infection is extremely important for the rest of your life. Your new joint is artificial and does not have your body’s natural protection against infection. It is possible to develop an infection in your artificial joint if antibiotics are not taken before certain procedures. These procedures include:

• Dental procedures

• Colonoscopy/Sigmoidoscopy

• Cystoscopy/Genitourinary instrumentation

• Prostate and/or bladder surgery

• Kidney surgery

• Cardiac catheterization

• Barium enema

• Endoscopy

Before having any procedures, let the physician or dentist doing the procedure know you have an implant. He or she should provide antibiotics. You may also contact the surgeon who performed your joint replacement to obtain the appropriate prescription antibiotics, if needed.

Thank you for choosing Cleveland Clinic for your joint replacement surgery. For questions or inquiries, please call your surgeon.

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