Antibiotics After Joint Replacement
The use of antibiotics after joint surgery can be divided into two time periods:
It has been well known for many years that the use of antibiotics at the time of surgery prevents infections. The exact antibiotic and the length of time after surgery is left up to some discussion but in general, giving what is called a "broad spectrum" antibiotic" at least 15 minutes before the incision followed by at least 3 doses or 24 hours of antibiotics is adequate. Some surgeons use a once a day antibiotic, some use a 3 times a day type of drug and others extend the antibiotics out to 2 days. All are proper.
After the first 48 hours there generally is no need for further antibiotics. If your wound is draining, some surgeons restart antibiotics with the idea that the drainage should be sterilized and an infection may be prevented. There is no real proof that this works or not. It is common practice though. it is not wrong to do it and it is not wrong to not do it.
After joint surgery, a wide range of procedures can happen to patients. This includes colonoscopy, cystoscopy, dental work, etc. Every joint surgeon I know has a list of the procedures that need antibiotics before and after. You must contact your own surgeon for this list as it is always changing. In general- dental cleaning and any dental work is the most dangerous.
General guidelines form the Orthopaedic Academy and the Dental Academy is that you need these antibiotics around certain procedures for up to two years after surgery.
Dr. K.
Related Topics: Need New Knees? There's Better Metal in Joint Surgery (WebMD Video), Arthritis and Knee Surgery: A New Twist
Technorati Tags: joint surgery, antibiotics, post-surgery antibiotics
- Around surgery
- After surgery at particular times
It has been well known for many years that the use of antibiotics at the time of surgery prevents infections. The exact antibiotic and the length of time after surgery is left up to some discussion but in general, giving what is called a "broad spectrum" antibiotic" at least 15 minutes before the incision followed by at least 3 doses or 24 hours of antibiotics is adequate. Some surgeons use a once a day antibiotic, some use a 3 times a day type of drug and others extend the antibiotics out to 2 days. All are proper.
After the first 48 hours there generally is no need for further antibiotics. If your wound is draining, some surgeons restart antibiotics with the idea that the drainage should be sterilized and an infection may be prevented. There is no real proof that this works or not. It is common practice though. it is not wrong to do it and it is not wrong to not do it.
After joint surgery, a wide range of procedures can happen to patients. This includes colonoscopy, cystoscopy, dental work, etc. Every joint surgeon I know has a list of the procedures that need antibiotics before and after. You must contact your own surgeon for this list as it is always changing. In general- dental cleaning and any dental work is the most dangerous.
General guidelines form the Orthopaedic Academy and the Dental Academy is that you need these antibiotics around certain procedures for up to two years after surgery.
Dr. K.
Related Topics: Need New Knees? There's Better Metal in Joint Surgery (WebMD Video), Arthritis and Knee Surgery: A New Twist
Technorati Tags: joint surgery, antibiotics, post-surgery antibiotics
6 Comments:
I believe I have carpal tunnel because given my symptoms and my mother and grandmother have had severe cases. I experience this pulsing in my middle finger on my left hand. When this happens I can feel it pulsing all the way down my forearm (underside). This will happen at night or during the day. I also experience periodic tingling/numbness in my fingers.
I was searching for your keyboard that has been clinically tested and you had a video of on your website in the last month. I can't find it. Can you inform me of where I can find this? (The keyboard has two sides which come up so that your hands type vertically rather than horizontally.)
Thank you,
I'm hoping you can give me some advice.
Around six months ago I started getting an intense severe pain in my right hip when I would stand up and take the first couple steps. Any pressure on that leg sent shock waves through my hips. It would be intense for a week, then mild to no pain for the next week. This continued this way for a couple of months.
Then the pain changed. The severity of the pain with pressure decreased, but I felt it more often and it would hurt to raise my leg from a laying down position. It seemed to get worse the day after physical activity (walking around amuzement parks)- to the point where I couldn't lift my right leg to walk up one step.
Around 4 or so months into this, the pain was starting to wake me up in the middle of the night. One morning I felt that same severity that I first felt in my hip, in my left knee. It woke me up before 5am and continued for a couple days. This is when I began taking Tylenol Arthritis (which helped a little).
A month following I have felt mild pain in my left wrist and elbow. A couple of weeks ago, I believed that I developed Baker's Cysts behind both knees. They were very swollen and painful (and I had already begun taking piroxicam when they appeared). My doc did a cortisone injection in left knee.
I have been to my PCP, gyne, orthopaedic, and a rheumatologist. I have had CT scans, ultrasound, bloodwork, MRI, X-ray. My joints show NO joint damage and all my bloodwork has come back normal.
I should also mention that my father has severe rheumatoid arthritis. I have had the RA factor done twice so far, and both have been normal, along with other bloodwork, including lupus and other inflammatory diseases. My dad, however, took 8 months to be diagnosed and took the RA factor 3 times before he showed up positive.
Right now, the piroxicam is helping. I feel mild pain in my hips occassionally and moderate pain behind my knees when I push them too hard (bowling).
I am getting really frustrated because the pain is very real and I have no answers as to what is causing it.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
You can email me at mkennedy121@yahoo.com
Thank you for any advice/suggestions you can give me.
What antibiotics do you actaully recomend after the knee sugery? keflex?
iv started getting terible pain in my knee this has been going on for a while i went to the doctors he has a look at my knee and said there was nothing wrong with it now the last 3 days my hip has started to hurt aswell please can you tell me what this could be ifeel i cant talk to my doctors
My wife had bunyan(sp) removed a year ago from the inside and outside needings screws. Dr said wasn't healing and needed to remove the metal. Didn't work, then bone died. Replaced with hip bone and plate. Got a staph infection which needed iv antibiotics 3 times a day. She had the bone replacement 4 months ago. No she has another staph infection which wont go away. Why would the bone die and what is causing all the staph infections. This is getting out of control for a minor surgery and it isn't getting better. Thanks, Kirk
Two and a half years ago I had bilateral knee replacement surgery. I recovered very well after 6 months of physical therapy. Last month I had to go into the ER for an ultrasound examination to make sure I was not having a problem with a blood clot in my right leg. The diagnosis was that I had a Bakers Cyst that ruptured. My right calf was swollen and bruised from my foot to my mid calf. My question is do Bakers Cysts reform and cause problems later and if so is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening?
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