Christopher EllisCEO Dynamic Physio Therapy

Blood Clot Warning Signs After Knee Replacement

14 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, Christopher Ellis warns viewers about the danger of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following knee replacement surgery. He emphasizes that the highest risk period is the first 2 to 10 days post‑operation, primarily due to prolonged immobility. Ellis references historical practices of bed rest that led to fatal clots and explains how a clot can travel, causing an embolism or stroke. He introduces the Wells prediction rule as an online tool to estimate DVT likelihood and advises patients to watch for the key clinical signs: intense calf pain, localized warmth, and tenderness that are not typical after surgery. The overall message is to stay vigilant and seek medical attention promptly if these symptoms appear.

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The biggest one, a DVT, which is a clot. A blood clot can kill you. You are at the greatest risk for the first 2 to 10 days after surgery. This happens from being sedentary, right? We used to put people on bed rest and then people would die because they're sedentary, the blood clots, and then you throw a clot and turns into an embolism or a stroke. Those, you definitely don't want that. Yeah. There is a Wells prediction rule. You can just type that into Google. There's a website you can punch in some criteria and it'll spit out a likelihood, you know, and tell you whether you should call the doc or not. The number one sign of that is really a lot of pain in the calf area, a lot of warmth, local tenderness that should not be happening. So watch out for that. And then