Overweight Patient Who Needs to Undergo TKA
Overweight patients need TKA more often than lean patients, but unfortunately, there are substantial technical difficulties during knee replacement
It is not surprising that overweight patients need TKA more often than lean patients. Unfortunately, there are substantial technical difficulties when a knee replacement is performed in obese patients. In fact, many surgeons prefer not to perform TKA on patients with BMI greater than 42 (calculate your BMI). However, there are still specific difficulties in performing TKA in patients whose BMI is between 32 and 42. One of the more difficult issues is related to the tourniquet. When a pneumatic tourniquet position on the thigh is inflated, it often has a tendency to slide down towards the knee. This disturbs the work of the surgeon and the pressure may be lost, thereby causing tourniquet failure and bleeding.
When HemaClear® is placed high on the thigh, near the connection between the leg and the pelvis (i.e. the groin area) it does not slide down, simply because the circumference of the most upper leg, even in obese patients, is somewhat smaller than at the middle of the thigh, over the quadriceps (“quad”) muscles. This way the surgeon has the full “real estate” and knee mobility needed for the accurate performance of TKA operation.