Infections may occur as a complication of knee surgery. An infection of the knee joint is serious and should always be taken care of immediately.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a knee surgery-infection include fever, swelling and new or ongoing drainage from the site of incision.
Treatment
Knee-surgery infections are treated by identifying the bacteria that caused the infection. Then, the knee joint is surgically cleaned and washed, followed by a prescription of antibiotics.
Risk Percentage
Joint replacement has a higher risk of infection than other surgeries. For a person's first knee-replacement surgery, the risk of infection is thought to be 0.5 percent.
Precautions
Hospital staff (surgeons, nurses, surgical technologists) must keep bacteria under control in the operating room. The staff wears a full body suit, similar to a space suit, and filters are used to keep the air clean. In addition, antibiotics are given before, during and after the surgery.
Additional Risk
There is an additional knee-surgery infection risk for those with diabetes or arthritis or who have taken cortisone for a long time. The infection risk is also increased if the knee joint had a prior infection or if the patient has had an infection elsewhere in the body.
Delayed Infection
Surprisingly, the artificial knee joint can get infected even years after the surgery. This can occur from bacteria that move through the blood from an infected wound elsewhere in the body, from a gallbladder infection or from regular dental work that released the bacteria.
Tags: knee joint, after surgery, bacteria that, elsewhere body, infection risk, risk infection