Birth control and breast augmentation. Have you seen issues in your own patients who stayed on it?

Oral contraceptives are statistically the most frequent cause of blood clots in young women. The risk of a blood clot increases within 4 months of initiation and then decreases to previous levels within 3 months of stopping treatment. Surgery itself is a risk factor for a blood clot and can add to the risk associated with oral contraceptive use. In general, the decision to stop or continue birth control is dependent on your surgeon and your own risks for blood clots. In patients at higher risk for a blood clot undergoing a higher-risk surgery...discontinuation is certainly a reasonable thing. OCs should be stopped four weeks prior to surgery.

The risk with oral estrogen and surgery is the increase in blood clots. The risk is low and is less in younger women, but it is still present. A breast augmentation alone is a fairly short procedure, so the risk is lower than a long procedure. I have had no blood clots in any patient from birth control pills since the estrogen dose is low. Compression socks and getting up and walking will be helpful.

Your safety is the number one priority during surgery. Remaining on birth control could put you at higher risk of developing blood clots. I encourage you to discuss your concerns with your surgeon about coming off of birth control as the surgery you are considering is relatively short and low risk. However if your surgeon insists that you should stop, then you must decide if the breast augmentation or remaining on birth control is your priority.