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What Causes Swelling Around The Incision Site Post Knee Surgery?

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Posted on Sat, 11 Jul 2015
Twitter Sat, 11 Jul 2015 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 31 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on
Question : 3 wks post-surgery for removal of bone fragments from below knee/upper tibia; incision healed well, but two days ago swelling developped; initially appeared like "fluid collecting"; bulge fairly soft; today bulge is more firm (more swollen); no temperature, no obvious inflammation, no issues with movement, minimal discomfort; tried to contact surgery physician on Thu and Fri but did not get response. Trying to decide whether emergency room visit might be warranted for drainage/antibiotics.
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Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
If no signs of inflammation, no pain, more likely to be fluid accumulation!

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about this swelling that you have reported. I have reviewed your information fully. This is not suggestive of a possible infection as there are no signs of inflammation like warmth, redness and pains. The firmness is probably as a result of more fluid accumulating. There is no immediate emergency that require and ER visit at this time. I will rather suggest that you monitor only and continue to get hold of your physician.

I will also like to get an image for review. For this, i recommend you upload an image of the knee swilling clearly the swelling so that I can inspect and provide more insights and helpful recommendations to you.

To upload an image, simply click on the link to upload a file and follow the instructions. If this proves difficult, please send the image by mail to YYYY@YYYY and request that the image should be uploaded to your query.

I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Chobufo Ditah

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2009

Answered : 6315 Questions

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What Causes Swelling Around The Incision Site Post Knee Surgery?

Brief Answer: If no signs of inflammation, no pain, more likely to be fluid accumulation! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for this query. I am so sorry to hear about this swelling that you have reported. I have reviewed your information fully. This is not suggestive of a possible infection as there are no signs of inflammation like warmth, redness and pains. The firmness is probably as a result of more fluid accumulating. There is no immediate emergency that require and ER visit at this time. I will rather suggest that you monitor only and continue to get hold of your physician. I will also like to get an image for review. For this, i recommend you upload an image of the knee swilling clearly the swelling so that I can inspect and provide more insights and helpful recommendations to you. To upload an image, simply click on the link to upload a file and follow the instructions. If this proves difficult, please send the image by mail to YYYY@YYYY and request that the image should be uploaded to your query. I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.