Patients are leaving the hospital after 48 hours after hip replacement, but it is still the same operation.” “Back in the day, people used to stay in the hospital for upwards of 10 days, but we are in a whole new day and age now. “The other devices that are available are stationary. The device is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The mobile device is smart in that it applies intermittent, sequential pressure to the leg in correlation with the patient’s respiratory cycle, maximizing blood flow to reduce the risk of clot formation.
The sleeve fits over a patient’s calves in a form fitting manner and is secured with Velcro. Recently, a company has manufactured a small, battery-operated compression device that people can wear that allows for its use outside of the hospital. Until now, the compression devices available were large, could only be used in hospitals and prevented walking. “Orthopedic surgeons on the other hand have to balance the desire to reduce the risk of blood clots with the reality that many of these chemical modalities that thin the blood are in fact associated with bleeding and hemorrhagic complications.” “The College of Chest Physicians believes the best way to prevent blood clots is to use pharmacologic agents to thin the blood and make it difficult to clot,” Dr. For preventive care, doctors have the choice of using blood thinners or a compression device that wraps around the leg and pumps the leg to maintain normal blood flow. In people with this condition, blood clots form in veins if a clot breaks away, it can travel to the lungs causing pulmonary embolism and death. Roughly 30 percent to 50 percent of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery, either hip or knee replacement, will develop thromboembolic disease unless they receive preventive care. This essentially raises the specter of ‘can we use mechanical agents in lieu of the pharmacologic agents to prevent blood clots.’” The efficacy is the same, the safety is markedly better and the cost is comparable. “This has the potential to change the paradigm as to how we prevent blood clots after hip replacement. Padgett, M.D., chief of Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement at Hospital for Special Surgery, one of the investigators and final author. “This device is as useful as blood thinners for the reduction of blood clots after hip replacement and it’s superior in safety,” said Douglas E. A mobile compression device is as effective as medication at preventing the formation of blood clots after hip replacement surgery but provides greater patient safety, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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