Perioperative complications after total hip arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty has become the standard treatment for end stage osteoarthritis. It is one of the most successful surgeries in the orthopedic armamentarium. It has been demonstrated as an effective way to decrease pain, improve quality of life and restore function in old and young patients alike. However, postoperative complications are still a risk associated with joint arthroplasty, which most significantly impacts patients' results and the total cost of care. As the number of patients that undergo total hip arthroplasty increases, it is our goal to try and minimize die incidence of perioperative complications. Perioperative complication after total hip arthroplasty includes both surgical complications such as: neurovascular injury, limb-length discrepancy, instability, and periprosthetic fracture, as weU as medical complication such as: postoperative infection, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, postoperative anemia, and cardiopulmonary complications. It is die objective of this review to discuss die different perioperative complications that occur after total hip arthroplasty, and to layout die treatment and preventive measures tiiat can be taken in order to limit dieir occurrence and decrease die associated morbidity.