Body Lift

Scottsdale – This is the third and final part of a three part blog series in which we discuss the relationship between lower bodylift, mean arterial pressure and low molecular weight heparin, Lovenox®.

A Scientific Study in Plastic Surgery.

Here we summarize a recent plastic surgery study which looks at the effect blood pressure management on the risks of bleeding after major body contouring surgery. When using Lovenox®, there is always an increase in the risk of bleeding during and after plastic surgery, because it is a blood thinner. The study was performed by the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Two groups of Plastic Surgery Patients.

The researchers looked at 2 patient groups. The first group, included 10 patients who experienced a hematoma (bleeding) after excisional body contouring surgery with perioperative Lovenox®. The second group, included 10 similar patients with respect to sex, surgery type, massive weight loss status, and Lovenox®, who did not have bleeding or hematoma. They looked to see what factors may have made a difference?

So, where are the Risks with Lower Bodylift.

According to the study, with lower bodylift surgery there is always a risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, either during or soon after surgery. Blood thinners work to reduce these risks, but what about bleeding?

The studyy looked at the mean arterial blood pressure before, during and after surgery. The mean pressure before plastic surgery for each group was the same (97.5 mm Hg vs 95.8 mm Hg). The mean MAP for the last 2 hours of surgery was significantly lower in the group with bleeding (66.7 mm Hg vs 82.4 mm Hg), and a higher mean arterial pressure after surgery reached significance in the group which experienced bleeding (96.3 mm Hg vs 88.5 mm Hg).

Both the difference between intraoperative versus the preoperative blood pressure (30.7 mm Hg vs 13.4 mm Hg) and between intraoperative versus postoperative blood pressure (29.6 mm Hg vs 7.0 mm Hg) were increased in the bleeding group versus the non-bleeding group.

Recommendations for Plastic Surgeons.

Prophylactic use of low molecular weight heparin, like Lovenox® works for decreasing blood clots from surgery and anesthesia. According to this study, maintaining a normal blood pressure during surgery and recognizing and treating high blood pressure after lower bodylift may reduce the bleeding and hematoma rate with the use of Lovenox®.

We hope that this 3-part blog helps all our patients to understand a little but more about the risk and potential complications of plastic surgery and what we can do to reduce the risks! Also, don’t forget that we have a newly scheduled Seminar about Plastic Surgery after Major Weight Loss on February 2nd, 2011.