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Antibiotics: You will be given an intravenous antibiotic two hours before surgery and continued for 48 hours postoperatively. It is possible that you may continue with an oral antibiotic for several days. Our first choice are the Cephalosporins, Ancef intravenously and Keflex orally. If there is a penicillin allergy, then Vancomycin is used. After a joint replacement, we recommend using oral antibiotic before, during and after any type of surgical procedure, invasive diagnostic test (angiography, cystoscopy etc.) or dental procedure to include teeth cleaning. We recommend that this prophylaxis continue throughout your lifetime.
DVT Prophylaxis: These are medicines used to reduce the risk of deep venous thrombosis. or blood clots. These are an unavoidable complication of hip surgery, but thankfully, the incidence is small.. Blood clots can travel to the lungs and become a pulmonary embolus, which can be fatal. There are several drugs available; namely, low molecular weight heparin (Lovenox, Fragmin), coumadin and aspirin. Mechanical methods include ace wraps, elastic stockings and SCD’S (sequential compression devices). We prefer elastic stockings and SCD’S used during your hospitalization. Lovenox is started 24 hours after surgery and continued for a total treatment time of ten days. These shots are given twice a day in the hospital and once a day after discharge. At home, the shots are either self administered or given by a spouse or home health care nurse. Recent studies are suggesting that a 30-day post-op course of prophylaxis may be more effective and we are starting to recommend this.