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Had Bilateral Knee Replacement. Refuses Blood Transfusion. Should Wait?

Posted on Fri, 23 Aug 2013

Question: my mother had bilateral knee replacement on Friday, 5 days ago. Her hgb went from 8.5 post op to 7 and now 6.5. We refused blood because she shows no signs of distress. Now she is in rehab and the doctors there want to give her blood due to the amount of work she will be doing for rehab. She is 74. Should she get blood or should we wait and see how much she can tolerate. The doctors are making her very anxious due to her low blood count. YYYY@YYYY

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thanks for writing to us.

Your mother haemoglobin level is quite low. She needs blood transfusion to regain the level. It is also necessary for healing of tissues after such surgery.

I would not suggest to wait for signs of distress to appear. She should go for blood transfusion without any anxiety as advised by her doctor.

Hope this helps you. Please do write back if you have any additional concerns.

Wishing her speedy recovery...

Regards.
Dr Saurabh Gupta.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad