How to avoid blood clot and cardiac arrest in mommy makeover surgery?

First thing you should do is only choose a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon to perform your procedure. Once you have chosen a board certified plastic surgeon they will have you perform lab work to make sure you are a suitable, heathy candidate to begin with. Then there are preventive measures that I’m sure each surgeon takes. Here at my office, we prescribe special injections to prevent clots, our patients are then given Sequential Compression Devices that they will wear at home that reduce clotting risk, as well as having our patients ambulate no less than every 4 hours. That’s on top of preventative measures that we take during your surgery. Feel free to set up a consultation with me at Smith Plastic Surgery if you would like to go over in more detail.

Blood clots refer to clots in occluded vessels in the deep venous systems of the legs and sometimes arms that may dislodge and produce pulmonary emboli.  These migrating clots may then prevent air exchange and lead to patient death.Obviously, these blood clots or DVTs are not favorable outcomes and they are to be avoided and prevented to the extent possible.  These are many risk factors which can increase the risk for blood clots, pulmonary emboli, and death.  Some of these are summarizes in the Caprini risk assessment index.  Patients with previous blood clots or pulmonary emboli are particularly susceptible to a repeat occurrence.  Patients who have family members with blood clots may have inherited conditions.Choose a ABPS board certified plastic surgeon who operates in a fully accredited surgery center, where the PS employees hospital staff anesthesiologists to provide the highest level of care possible along with potential overlap in personnel if necessary. These individuals are all experienced and highly skilled and are capable of managing any high stress situation. They have experience in emergency and critical care situations and preserve their skills by retaining their hospital positions, performing codes for patients at risk of death from heart attack, stroke, or embolus who require ACLS (advance cardiac life support) and beyond.

Hello and thank you for your question. First, I would make sure to choose a plastic surgeon that is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Check the facility to make sure it is adequately credentialed. There are many things that can be done to reduce the risk of blood clots, including early post op ambulation, SCD machines, and prophylactic anticoagulation medications (subcutaneous heparin, etc). Your plastic surgeon will decide which one(s) to use based on the assessment of your particular risk. A discussion about blood clot prevention has to be an essential part of your preoperative evaluation. Best,Pejman Aflaki, M.D.

Johns Hopkins-trained double board-certified plastic surgeon