The surgical safety study reviewed the combination of subcutaneous heparin and intravenous tranexamic acid to reduce blood loss in outpatient liposuction procedures.

Ryan Neinstein MD, FRCSC, of Neinstein Plastic Surgery in New York City, conducted a study to examine surgical blood loss and the risks of blood clots in liposuction surgeries.

The Neinstein Plastic Surgery team reviewed the combination of subcutaneous heparin and intravenous tranexamic acid in outpatient liposuction procedures. The study showed the dual benefit of venous thromboembolism protection and reduction of blood loss, blood clots, and perioperative blood loss during liposuction.

The study concluded that combining subcutaneous heparin and intravenous tranexamic acid in outpatient liposuction procedures enhances plastic surgery safety. This process allows for more fat extraction and expedites patient healing, presumably from reduced blood loss.

In the study, all patients undergoing general anesthesia were given 5000 units of subcutaneous heparin, an anticoagulant medication, before induction of anesthesia.

The patients received a standard dose of 10 mg/kg of tranexamic acid intravenously during the preoperative period. Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic agent that significantly reduces blood loss after trauma or surgical procedures.

The authors of the study reviewed records for venous thromboembolism or blood clots, hematoma or bleeding, and variations in patient populations. All patients involved in the study received Ultrasonic-Assisted Liposuction (UAL) or Power-Assisted Liposuction (PAL).

Sixty percent of the three-hundred patients also had ionizing subdermal helium treatments. The authors compared age, body mass index, gender, and volume of lipoaspirate.

They did not detect an incidence of venous thromboembolism, but they found three incidents of hematoma in two females and one male that required irrigation and suction-assisted aspiration.

In future research projects, Neinstein and his staff plan to conduct other randomized controlled studies to corroborate the effectiveness of using subcutaneous heparin and intravenous tranexamic acid in liposuction patients to reduce blood loss and the risks of blood clotting.

Photo courtesy of Neinstein Plastic Surgery