Is Routine Chemical Thromboprophylaxis Necessary in Patients Undergoing Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty?

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence ofvenous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) 3 days and 3 months postoperatively and figure out whether routine chemical thromboprophylaxis was necessary.Methods The medical records of 146 patients who underwent unilateral UKA at our institution were reviewed. The length of hospital stays after the surgery of the patients was 5.6 ± 2.7 days (3–23 days). All patients underwent pneumatic leg compression, rehabilitation exercises, pain management, and chemical deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis from the day of surgery to 3 days after the surgery. From the fourth day to discharge, chemical prophylaxis was stopped. After discharge, only rehabilitation exercises were encouraged. All patients underwent bilateral venography or ultrasound preoperatively and 3 days postoperatively to detect DVT. They completed the follow-up review 3 months after the surgery; 108 patients had ultrasound tests again.Results DVT was detected in 9 (6.2%) of the 146 patients 3 days after the surgery and in 8 (7.4%) of the 108 patients 3 months after the surgery. No symptomatic or proximal DVT was observed. No patient exhibited pulmonary embolism–related symptoms. After discharge, six DVTs (66.7%) dissolved, and 6 (5.6%) were newly formed. No significant difference in demographics and surgery-related factors was detected between DVT and no-DVT groups at both time points.Conclusions Routine chemical thromboprophylaxis in patients undergoing UKA with pain management and rehabilitation exercises may not be necessary.