A New Method to Decrease the Occurrence of Embolic Events during Total Hip Replacement
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Fernandes L, Doctus Journal of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation.
Abstract
Intramedullary pressurisation during femoral component insertion generates embolic showers detectable on transoesophageal echocardiography and is implicated in perioperative cardiopulmonary compromise. We evaluated a modified venting protocol combining a distal cortical vent with staged cement pressurisation in 96 consecutive primary total hip replacements, against 94 matched historical controls. Grade 3 or higher embolic burden fell from 31% to 12%, with a corresponding reduction in intraoperative desaturation episodes. Operative time increased by a mean of 6.4 minutes and no difference in cement mantle quality was observed on postoperative radiographs. The protocol is inexpensive, requires no additional instrumentation, and is readily adopted.
Keywords
Total Hip Replacement; Bone Cement Implantation Syndrome; Embolism; Venting Technique; Perioperative Safety; Arthroplasty
How to Cite
Fernandes L, Thomas J and Kundu A. “A New Method to Decrease the Occurrence of Embolic Events during Total Hip Replacement”. Doctus Journal of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation 1.2 (2026): 30-42.
Copyright and Licence
© 2026 Fernandes L. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.