Total blood loss in major joint arthroplasty. A comparison of cemented and noncemented hip and knee operations

Blood loss is an important aspect of any major surgery. With increased experience and increasing use of noncemented prostheses, there are indications that the total blood loss is higher in noncemented than in similar cemented arthroplasties. This report is a retrospective study of blood loss comparing cemented and non-cemented cases. In a total of 30 total hip and 37 total knee arthroplasties that were reviewed in detail, the difference in blood loss between the two groups was statistically significant. The authors give suggestions on how to reduce blood loss in noncemented knee procedures.