The postoperative drain-clamping method for hemostasis in total knee arthroplasty. Reducing postoperative bleeding in...

We attempted to decrease the amount of postoperative bleeding after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) by clamping the suction drain and through retrograde infusion of saline containing a low concentration of epinephrine. When TKA was completed and the sutured wound was bandaged, 50 ml of saline containing epinephrine diluted to 1:200,000 and 0.5 g of antibiotic was injected into the knee joint via the inserted suction drain. The drain was clamped for 20 hours and then unclamped to begin aspiration until 48 hours after surgery. To clarify the effectiveness of this method, patients were divided into three groups. Group I consisted of 116 knees (in 95 patients) infused with 50 ml saline containing a low dose of epinephrine: Group II was composed of 70 knees (42 patients) infused with 50 ml saline only; and Group III included 97 knees (78 patients) who did not undergo this drain-clamp method. The average amount of postoperative bleeding was 207 ml in Group I, 255 ml in Group II (p < 0.01), and 501 ml in Group III (p < 0.001). With this method of using saline with a low dose of epinephrine and sustained clamping of up to 20 hours, we have been able to operate on elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis without blood transfusion, even in cases of simultaneous bilateral TKA. Drain-clamping with saline infusion effectively controlled postoperative bleeding after TKA, and when epinephrine was added to the saline, the hemostatic effect was even greater than that of saline alone.