title: Ask the doctor.  I need surgery for a gastrointestinal problem, and my question is how to handle my antiplatelet therapy, which I have been taking for two years since I had angioplasty.  I take aspirin and clopidogrel, which were started after I had a heart attack and a stent was placed to keep the narrowed artery open.  Things have been going just fine.  But I know the surgeon wants to stop the clopidogrel during the period around the surgery, and that worries me.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D000075202:Contraindications; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D015607:Stents; D013988:Ticlopidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D028761:Withholding Treatment
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D013988:Ticlopidine; D001241:Aspirin