A ^Retired Plastic Surgeon's Notebook

HRT and plastic surgery

HRT and Plastic Surgery:  Insight from a menopausal plastic surgeon.blog hot flash

It is well know that hormone replacement therapy can increase the risk of postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT).  Some surgeons just recommend to “just stop taking your HRT medication for two weeks before and two weeks after surgery.”   I take a different approach.  “Just stop taking your HRT” means different things to different women.  Some women would just have to put up with a few night sweats but other women (yours truly included) would have a thermo nuclear meltdown.  And adding thermo nuclear meltdown to your list of preoperative and postoperative issues is not very appealing, is it?

My recommendations for women on HRT depends on their menopausal symptoms, their general health and the type of surgery they are having.  In most cases, if a woman has several risk factors for DVT and is one of the thermo nuclear types, I will put keep her on her HRT and put her on Lovenox, a low dose blood thinner for a week after surgery.  Lovenox is injected just under the surface of the skin and, thanks to very friendly packaging and a teeny tiny needle,  even the most squeamish patients and caregivers can inject it.   And, knock on wood, I have yet to see serious bleeding issues with this medication.

Thanks for reading and keep cool.  Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

 

 

Category: My Plastic Surgery Philosophy, Patient Safety, Postoperative Care, Preoperative Care | Tags: , , ,

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