The incidence of deep-vein thrombosis was studied in 146 consecutive
Korean patients who had a cementless total hip replacement with a
porous-coated anatomic prosthesis. All of the patients had discontinued
taking aspirin, aspirin-containing compounds, or other antiplatelet
medications fourteen days before admission to the hospital for the
operation. Deep-vein thrombosis was diagnosed by roentgenographic
venography, and pulmonary embolism, by perfusion lung-scanning. There was
an unusually low incidence (10 per cent) of deep-vein thrombosis in this
series. In contrast to other reports, we did not identify a relationship
between deep-vein thrombosis and so-called risk factors such as advanced
age, number of venous valves (more than five) in the lower extremity,
abnormal coagulation-assay data, certain diseases, or preoperative
limitation of mobility. In addition, hypertension, blood group, surgical
approach, and choice of cemented or cementless total hip replacement did
not seem to affect the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis. There was a low
incidence of deep-vein thrombosis in patients in whom obesity, prolonged
immobilization postoperatively, varicose veins, and hyperlipemia were not
factors.