Thromboembolism is one of the most common complications after TKA, and is of great
concern because of the associated increases in morbidity and mortality reported in the
literature. To date, no approach to venous thromboembolic prophylaxis has been
universally accepted by orthopedic surgeons. The methods of prophylaxis varied among the
included studies. Using a drain in TKA theoretically reduces postoperative knee swelling
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The Role of Drainage After Total Knee Arthroplasty
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and may reduce the risk of thromboembolism. However, the evidence provided in the
literature seems not to support this claim. Several studies compared the incidence of deep
vein thrombosis between the drainage and non-drainage groups and all of them found no
significant difference.(Holt et al. 1997; Adalberth et al. 1998; Mengal et al. 2001)