Continuing out-of-hospital prophylaxis following major orthopaedic surgery: what now?

Post-surgical deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is often underdiagnosed by clinical assessment alone. Subclinical DVT is a major source of pulmonary embolism, which is an important cause of death, particularly following total hip replacement surgery. Results from pathophysiological studies and recently conducted, prospective double-blind venographic studies in Europe and North America suggest that, in patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery, thromboprophylaxis with a low-molecular-weight heparin should be continued for at least 5 weeks post-operatively to minimize this serious complication.