Abstracts Posters SICOT-SOF meeting Gothenburg 2010 _2_

Poster
Topic: General Orthopaedics
Abstract number: 25850
INCIDENCE OF SYMPTOMATIC VENOUS THROMBO-EMBOLISM IN SHOULDER
SURGERY. RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.
Konrad Sebastian WRONKA 1 , Amit SINHA 2
1 Poole Hospital NHS Trust, Poole (UNITED KINGDOM), 2 Glan Clwyd Hospital, North
Wales, Rhyl (UNITED KINGDOM)
Background This clinical study was performed to establish the prevalence of deep
vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism after shoulder surgery. The incidence of
venous thromboembolism complicating shoulder surgery is poorly described in
literature. As VTE is a potentially fatal condition we wanted to make surgeons aware
of the problem and to try to establish any risk factors contributing to it. Methods We
reviewed retrospectively clinical records of all patients who had any surgical
procedure performed on their shoulder between 2001 and 2009. Patients' records
were assessed for any admissions due to proven VTE; we looked for any radiological
results suggestive of venous thromboembolism. Results: We identified 1020patients
who had surgical procedure under GA on their shoulder; including 113 patients had
shoulder arthroplasty. There was 1 fatal PE in this group. There were 2 cases of
symptomatic DVT of lower limb, both treated successfully with anticoagulation. No
upper limb DVT was identified. There were 7 patients who had negative tests for
suspected thrombosis. Discussion Recent studies suggest that DVT prevalence
following arthroplasty is as high as 13%. According to our results the prevalence of
symptomatic DVT following shoulder surgery is about 0.3% and symptomatic PE
about 0.1 %. The prevalence of asymptomatic VTE is probably much higher and
further research needs to be undertaken in that area. We would advice to think
carefully about risk of thrombosis and use mechanical prophylaxis in shoulder
surgery. We would not recommend routine postoperative anticoagulation as DVT
prophylaxis unless there are additional risk factors.
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