Prolonged wound drainage after total hip or knee arthroplasty is a very undesirable complication, both from medical as patients view. Wound drainage prolongs hospital admission and is associated with an increased risk of infection (1) post-operative wound drainage of more than 48 hours is associated with an increased infection risk of 42 percent a day in hip arthroplasty and 27 percent a day in knee arthroplasty. (2) Patient organizations report that wound drainage is considered as one of the most undesirable complications.