Some wound complications can be prevented with attention to patient, surgical, and postoperative factors; others develop despite all efforts. Some practices that affect wound healing, such as the use of drains and methods of thromboprophylaxis are contentious. Superficial wound problems must always be discriminated from deep infection, which is not the focus of this article. Wound complications require prompt attention. As there is little morbidity from early irrigation and debridement of problem total knee arthroplasties (Weiss AP, Krackow KA. Persistent wound drainage after primary total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 1993;8(3):285-9), early intervention is generally preferred.