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CASE REPORT article

Front. Surg.
Sec. Orthopedic Surgery
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2024.1519414

Trendelenburg Gait Caused by Retained Drain Fragment: A Rare

Provisionally accepted
Selahaddin Aydemir Selahaddin Aydemir 1*Ozgur Aydin Ozgur Aydin 2Mustafa Çeltik Mustafa Çeltik 3Burak Duymaz Burak Duymaz 2Mehmet Erduran Mehmet Erduran 2
  • 1 Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, Kastamonu, Türkiye
  • 2 Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye
  • 3 Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Retained drain fragments, though rare, can lead to significant complications in orthopedic surgery(1). This case report presents a 57-year-old woman who developed gluteal tendinopathy and Trendelenburg gait two years after a total hip arthroplasty (THA) due to a retained drain fragment. A less experienced surgeon encountered resistance during drain removal on the first postoperative day and applied excessive force, unknowingly leaving a fragment inside. The patient initially had no symptoms, but later presented with pain and gait disturbances. Radiographic evaluation revealed the retained drain, necessitating surgical removal and gluteus medius augmentation.The patient subsequently underwent a structured rehabilitation program. This case emphasizes the importance of careful drain management, proper postoperative evaluation, and collaborative patient-doctor decision-making to prevent such complications.

    Keywords: Drain management, Orthopedic surgery complication, Trendelenburg gait, gluteal tendinopathy, retained drain

    Received: 29 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Aydemir, Aydin, Çeltik, Duymaz and Erduran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Selahaddin Aydemir, Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, Kastamonu, Türkiye

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