The Journal of arthroplasty
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Some wound complications can be prevented with attention to patient, surgical, and postoperative factors; others develop despite all efforts. Some practices that affect wound healing, such as the use of drains and methods of thromboprophylaxis are contentious. Superficial wound problems must always be discriminated from deep infection, which is not the focus of this article. ⋯ As there is little morbidity from early irrigation and debridement of problem total knee arthroplasties (Weiss AP, Krackow KA. Persistent wound drainage after primary total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 1993;8(3):285-9), early intervention is generally preferred.
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Blood management strategies is a term used to address a coordinated approach to the management of blood loss in the perioperative period for total joint arthroplasty. The premise of any blood management strategy is that each patient, surgeon, and operative intervention experiences different risks of requiring transfusion, that those risks can be identified, and that a plan can be implemented to address them. ⋯ Intervention strategies can be applied preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Patient-specific planning allows for the appropriate use of patient, hospital, and system resources, ensuring that the consequences of anemia are minimized and that the patient's recovery process is optimized.