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Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?

Introduction "When can I fly after my hip or knee replacement?" is a question frequently encountered by surgeons. Both air travel and arthroplasty increase the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE); however, few studies examine the risk of air travel following arthroplasty. This study aimed...

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Autores principales: Oputa, Tobenna J, Patil, Amogh, Amissah-Arthur, Joe B, Lum, Joann, McLoughin, Kathryn, Choudry, Qaisar, Caruana, Ethan, Almari, Fayez, Sloan, Andrew
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10508977/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37731433
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43814
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author Oputa, Tobenna J
Patil, Amogh
Amissah-Arthur, Joe B
Lum, Joann
McLoughin, Kathryn
Choudry, Qaisar
Caruana, Ethan
Almari, Fayez
Sloan, Andrew
author_facet Oputa, Tobenna J
Patil, Amogh
Amissah-Arthur, Joe B
Lum, Joann
McLoughin, Kathryn
Choudry, Qaisar
Caruana, Ethan
Almari, Fayez
Sloan, Andrew
author_sort Oputa, Tobenna J
collection PubMed
description Introduction "When can I fly after my hip or knee replacement?" is a question frequently encountered by surgeons. Both air travel and arthroplasty increase the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE); however, few studies examine the risk of air travel following arthroplasty. This study aimed to review the advice given to patients by surgeons, airlines, and insurance providers about flying after arthroplasty. We also review the current literature and available guidelines. Materials and methods A survey was sent to consultants with a special interest in hip or knee arthroplasty at 14 hospital trusts in the United Kingdom (UK) asking how long they would advise patients to avoid flying after surgery. We contacted all UK commercial airlines asking if they imposed any limitations on flying after arthroplasty. We contacted 15 UK insurance providers to determine whether they would provide insurance coverage following arthroplasty. Results A total of 110 knee surgeons and 105 hip surgeons were contacted. The response rate was 42% for hip surgeons and 44% for knee surgeons. Advised time to avoid flying varied widely from 14 to 180 days. A total of 22 airlines were contacted, and the response rate was 63% (n=14). Five airlines would not allow passengers to fly following arthroplasty and seven airlines required certification from a doctor. Fifteen insurance providers were contacted and the response rate was 73% (n=11). Seven insurance providers had restrictions on providing cover to passengers after arthroplasty. Conclusion Advice given to patients by surgeons, airlines, and insurance providers about flying following arthroplasty varies greatly. There is an absence of evidence-based guidelines to inform such advice. Further study is required to provide the evidence on which to base such advice. Therefore, we recommend that surgeons exercise caution when providing advice to patients.
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spelling pubmed-105089772023-09-20 Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty? Oputa, Tobenna J Patil, Amogh Amissah-Arthur, Joe B Lum, Joann McLoughin, Kathryn Choudry, Qaisar Caruana, Ethan Almari, Fayez Sloan, Andrew Cureus Orthopedics Introduction "When can I fly after my hip or knee replacement?" is a question frequently encountered by surgeons. Both air travel and arthroplasty increase the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE); however, few studies examine the risk of air travel following arthroplasty. This study aimed to review the advice given to patients by surgeons, airlines, and insurance providers about flying after arthroplasty. We also review the current literature and available guidelines. Materials and methods A survey was sent to consultants with a special interest in hip or knee arthroplasty at 14 hospital trusts in the United Kingdom (UK) asking how long they would advise patients to avoid flying after surgery. We contacted all UK commercial airlines asking if they imposed any limitations on flying after arthroplasty. We contacted 15 UK insurance providers to determine whether they would provide insurance coverage following arthroplasty. Results A total of 110 knee surgeons and 105 hip surgeons were contacted. The response rate was 42% for hip surgeons and 44% for knee surgeons. Advised time to avoid flying varied widely from 14 to 180 days. A total of 22 airlines were contacted, and the response rate was 63% (n=14). Five airlines would not allow passengers to fly following arthroplasty and seven airlines required certification from a doctor. Fifteen insurance providers were contacted and the response rate was 73% (n=11). Seven insurance providers had restrictions on providing cover to passengers after arthroplasty. Conclusion Advice given to patients by surgeons, airlines, and insurance providers about flying following arthroplasty varies greatly. There is an absence of evidence-based guidelines to inform such advice. Further study is required to provide the evidence on which to base such advice. Therefore, we recommend that surgeons exercise caution when providing advice to patients. Cureus 2023-08-20 /pmc/articles/PMC10508977/ /pubmed/37731433 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43814 Text en Copyright © 2023, Oputa et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Orthopedics
Oputa, Tobenna J
Patil, Amogh
Amissah-Arthur, Joe B
Lum, Joann
McLoughin, Kathryn
Choudry, Qaisar
Caruana, Ethan
Almari, Fayez
Sloan, Andrew
Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title_full Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title_fullStr Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title_full_unstemmed Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title_short Is There a Consensus on Air Travel Following Hip and Knee Arthroplasty?
title_sort is there a consensus on air travel following hip and knee arthroplasty?
topic Orthopedics
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10508977/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37731433
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43814
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