ABSTRACT
In a prospective study of deep-vein thrombosis following hip surgery for fractures of the proximal femur, 45 Hong Kong Chinese patients were examined by bilateral functional ascending phlebography 7 to 28 days postfracture and 5 to 15 days post-surgery. In 14 patients, the phlebography was repeated 10 to 32 days later. The patients were followed for 27 to 32 months. The phlebographic pattern of the venous thrombi were analyzed, and the clinical course of the patients was presented. Despite the fact that the overall incidence of deep-vein thrombosis in this group of Chinese patients was similar to that reported in the West, clinical pulmonary embolism was not observed. The study suggested a difference in the distribution, pattern and probably the natural history of the venous thrombi among the Chinese when compared with the Western series.
Subject(s)
Hip Fractures/surgery , Postoperative Complications/diagnostic imaging , Thrombophlebitis/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Aged , Asian People , Female , Fracture Fixation, Internal , Hip Fractures/complications , Hong Kong , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Pulmonary Embolism/epidemiology , Pulmonary Embolism/etiology , Radiography , Thrombophlebitis/etiology , Thrombophlebitis/surgeryABSTRACT
Fifty-three Hong Kong Chinese patients with fractures of the proximal femur have been studied after hip surgery using functional ascending phlebograms for evaluating deep vein thrombosis. There was an incidence of deep vein thrombosis of 53.1 per cent in the fractured limbs and 14.3 per cent in the uninjured limbs. The majority of thrombi (84.6 per cent) were located in the calf. No clinical or fatal pulmonary embolism was observed.
Subject(s)
Hip Fractures/surgery , Postoperative Complications , Thrombophlebitis/etiology , Adult , Aged , China/ethnology , Female , Hong Kong , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Representative phlebograms from a series of 38 patients (86 phlebograms) followed up from 2 weeks to 6 years after the initial thrombotic episode are presented. The veins cleared earliest and most completely in patients with thrombosis, limited to the calf. Totally occluded veins cleared more slowly and less completely than non- or partially occluded veins. Post-thrombotic restoration of normal venous and valvular structures was commonly seen. The authors describe a phlebographic pattern which corresponds to previously documented pathological material, illustrating intimal thickening as a sequel to organization of thrombi onto the walls of the veins.
