The importance of DVT in the calf is poorly understood the treatments itself reported-in previous studies, the risks DVT may be greater than the thrombosis itself. The Journal herein told us about deep-vein thromboses in the calf after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) disappear spontaneously with time. There are no reccurent DVT, proximal embolisation or propagation, according to the article.

The researchers investigated the results of calf deep-vein thrombosis (c-DVT) after TKA in 48 patients. Fourty-seven patients was diagnosed osteoarthritis and the rest was rheumatoid arthritis. There were 44 calf thrombi, four popliteal thrombi, and no thrombi in both femoral and illiac regions.

C.-J. Wang, J.-W. Wang, L.-H. Weng, C.-C. Hsu, C.-F. Lo from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan wrote this report for public on March 2003. Their study designed to assess the outcome of these thrombi(above) between three and four years later. No DVT prophylaxis had been used at the time of operation.


The results of our current study support the view that DVTs in the calf in an Asian population dissolve spontaneously with time. No proximal propagation or embolisation was seen. Our study does not show the fate of a proximal DVT because none of our patients had a proximal DVT in either the femoral or iliac vein.

Full read of Deep-Vein Thromboses in The Calf Cured After Total Knee Arthroplasty you can find in 4 pages PDF format (source: jbjs.org.uk). Find also another Surgery Journal.