The significance of calf thrombi after total knee arthroplasty

We reviewed the records of 1257 patients having 1625 total knee arthroplasties; all had pre-operative and postoperative perfusion lung scans and postoperative venograms which were classified as showing no thrombi, calf thrombi or proximal thrombi. Patients with calf thrombi were found to have a significantly greater risk for both symptomatic and asymptomatic pulmonary embolism compared with patients with no venographic thrombi. There were positive lung scans in 6.9% of patients with calf thrombi compared with 2.0% of patients with negative venograms (p < 0.001). Symptomatic pulmonary embolism occurred in 1.6% of patients with calf thrombi compared with 0.2% of patients with negative venograms (p = 0.034). The risk of pulmonary embolism was not significantly different between patients with treated proximal thrombi, and those with calf thrombi. Patients who develop deep-vein thrombosis despite prophylaxis are at increased risk for pulmonary embolism; these patients should receive treatment, or undergo follow-up studies to detect proximal propagation.