Infection After Hip Replacement

One of the most serious complications facing patients who undergo joint replacement surgery is infection.

Infection after hip replacement. Joint replacement infections may occur in the wound or deep around the artificial implants. During the last 30 years management options have developed to improve clearance of infection while maintaining joint function during treatment and improve outcome at reimplantation. Authors of a 2017 u k. Infections are caused by viruses or bacteria.

A small percentage of patients undergoing hip or knee replacement roughly about 1 in 100 may develop an infection after the operation. There should be no clear discharge from the wound after 10 days and if there is you must inform your doctor. Conditions that can damage the hip joint sometimes making hip replacement surgery necessary include. Sometimes after surgery knee replacement infection or joint replacement infections can occur.

Joint replacement infections can even occur years after your surgery. Any type of infection in other areas of the body can also lead to the infection of the hip or knee replacements. It may happen while in the hospital or after you go home. Although infection occurs in only a small percentage of patients it can prolong or limit full recovery.

An infection may develop during your hospital stay or after you go home. No surgical procedure is without risks however. Infection may occur in the wound or deep around the prosthesis. The study reviewed medical literature on infection following total hip arthroplasty and found various studies that showed a risk of between 0 57 percent and 2 23 percent for infection around or near the joint.

Commonly known as wear and tear arthritis osteoarthritis damages the slick cartilage that covers the ends of bones and helps joints move smoothly. Symptoms of hip replacement infection symptoms may include a fever and pus or clear liquid oozing from the wound. Although bacteria are abundant on our skin and the gastrointestinal tract the immune system works hard and generally keeps the harmful bacteria in check. There is an estimated 0 5 to 1 risk of an infection following a hip replacement.

Hip replacement is a very common. Infection remains a serious complication of total hip arthroplasty tha. Learn more about preventing infection after hip replacement or knee replacement. In these cases bacteria can adhere to the implant itself which makes the infection difficult to treat.

Standard treatment for joint infection is to remove the joint. Study published in the indian journal of orthopaedics called infection around hip implants one of the more devastating complications of hip replacement.