title: Deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis in body contouring: 105 consecutive patients.
abstract: Body contouring has a higher rate of thromboembolism than traditional plastic surgery procedures. Although risk stratification protocols exist, few offer specific therapeutic guidelines for deep venous thrombosis prevention. This single surgeon series classifies 105 consecutive patients into low, moderate, high, and highest risk groups. The respective thromboembolism prevention treatment included pneumatic compression devices alone, postoperative low-dose unfractionated heparin (LDUH), preoperative and 2 doses of postoperative LDUH, and preoperative and postoperative LDUH/low-dose molecular weight heparin for 7 days. Complications included 1 reoperation for bleeding. There were no clinically detected deep venous thromboses. In conclusion, this treatment algorithm for thromboembolism prevention results in a low rate of bleeding and thrombosis. Further studies are warranted to determine optimal timing and duration of chemoprophylaxis in plastic surgery patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Reish
authors.forename: Branimir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Damjanovic
authors.forename: Amy S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Colwell
mesh_terms: D061645:Abdominoplasty; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006493:Heparin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D048228:Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Devices; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; D006493:Heparin