Arthroplasty Infection

An arthroplasty surgery carries with it the risk of infection. And while few people experience serious complications---less than 2 percent, according to the Mayo Clinic---some individuals do. An arthroplasty infection may be mild, or it can turn serious enough to prompt additional surgical attention.

Arthroplasty

• Arthroplasty is a medical surgical procedure performed on bone joints that are located in the hands, elbows, knees and hips. The need for this type of surgery is often due to injury or arthritis. And the surgery can consist of debridement (the removal of loose bone pieces, cartilage and bone spurs), resurfacing the bone joint or total joint replacement.

Arthroplasty Infection

• Given that arthroplasty requires a surgeon to make incisions, infection is one of the possible risks of this type of procedure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Infection is possible at the incision site, but it can also occur elsewhere, like in the tissue area near the bone joint.

  Generally, if the infection is not too severe, an antibiotic can treat it successfully. However, more severe infections can result in the need for the prosthesis (replacement joint) to be removed altogether.

Replacement Joint Rejection

• Infection can result in the need to remove a prosthesis.

  If an infection occurs as a result of the body's rejection of a replacement joint (prosthesis) installed during arthroplasty surgery, an individual will likely have to undergo another operation to remove the prosthesis. When this happens, the type of material used in the first prosthesis (either metal alloy, top-grade plastic or polymer) is usually not used again for the second prosthesis in order to prevent another rejection.

Infection and Additional Surgeries

• When replacement joints needs to be removed from an individual due to an infection, two surgeries are generally performed, not one, according to the Mayo Clinic. The first surgery is to remove the joint causing the infection, and another surgery is required in order to replace the joint that had to be removed.

  That means that an individual might experience three arthroplasty-type operations for one joint replacement need because of an infection. And, unfortunately, with each additional surgery the individual risks diminishing the returns she expected from the surgery in the first place: less pain, greater mobility and function.

Significance

• But infection isn't just a concern or risk during or immediately after an arthroplasty surgery; it can be a risk for years after the individual has this type of surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms that you may be experiencing an infection due to arthroplasty can include the following: fever that exceeds 100 degrees; surgical site drainage; pain, redness, swelling or tenderness near the joint that was replaced; and chills.