Total knee arthroplasty complicated by distal deep venous thromboembolism: Does it affect the functional outcome?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the outcome of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) following patients with and without deep vein thrombosis (DVT) using patient-reported quality of life outcomes and therapist-reported knee range of motion. We carried out a retrospective study of 157 patients who underwent primary TKA at one large regional hospital. Thirty-six patients developed DVT after TKA. We scored patients at pre-operation, six months and two years post-operation using Short Form-36, Knee Society Clinical Rating System, Oxford 12-item Knee Score questionnaires, and knee range of motion. Our study found that there was no significant difference in the patient-reported quality of life outcomes and therapist-reported knee range of motion between patients who had developed DVT and those who did not.