No effect of drains on the postoperative hematoma volume in hip replacement surgery

In a prospective randomized study we used erythrocyte scintigraphy to evaluate whether drainage reduced the hematoma volume after total hip arthroplasty. 12 patients were left without drains and 10 patients had two drains inserted, one below the fascia and one subcutaneously. We used tomographic registration (SPECT) to calculate the volume of the hematoma (erythrocytes) about 22 hours after surgery and found that drainage did not reduce the volume, but increased the need for blood transfusion.