Question - Surgery (pain and fluid in ankle/leg)

My husband had this surgery 12 days ago and is doing great except for this weekend his entire leg and ankle is very swollen and looks like fluid. What could this be? There is no add'l pain or soreness.

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Question - Surgery (pain and fluid in ankle/leg)

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Jul 28, 2008
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Sorry, what type of surgery...
by: Bart - SII

I am guessing that you clicked straight to the "questions" page from where you were reading - however, I don't know which surgery you are talking about. I am guessing it is a knee surgery, as you are concerned about swelling in the leg and ankle.

This is very common, and is because gravity naturally pulls the swelling down toward the leg and foot after a knee surgery. Elevation after surgery for the first few days will help alleviate this. An elastic bandage put on the leg from the foot all the way up to the knee can also help.

If he has a lot of persistent swelling, massage performed by an athletic trainer or physical therapist during rehab can help move the swelling out of the area.

Swelling like this will increase as you spend more time on your feet, so elevating and resting is the best thing to do - after the first 10-14 days, the body stops producing as much swelling and their is less to migrate south.

Hope this helps - comment back with other questions.