Do I have to stop taking Tramadol (200 mg a day) prior to surgery? If so, how long?

Hi. In most cases, I would not require my patient to stop Tramadol before surgery, but that depends on the overall clinical picture.  I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon with good experience in the procedure you are interested in.  Good luck and take care,Dr. Howell

Thank you for your question. While the Tramadol is not a blood thinner and shouldn't interfere with your surgery, it's best to follow your surgeon's recommendations or at the very least discuss with them their pros and cons of continuing your medication. Good luck!

This is a good question!I will preface with saying it is always best to speak to your specific plastic surgeon as well as anesthesiologist if your procedure involves one. There are a lot of reasons why medication should be discontinued prior to a surgical procedure, one of the most common ones being increased bleeding risk and reaction to medications needed for the surgery. Tramadol does not cause an increased risk of bleeding but your doctor may have advised to discontinue the medication due to tolerance. When somebody takes a pain medication for a length of time, the body begins to need more to provide the same effect. That being said, if your doctor was planning on prescribing tramadol for post-operative pain he may want you to discontinue it so it will have a greater effect.It always best to have an in-depth discussion with all the medication you are taking and which will have to be stopped before surgery as well as when it is safe to begin taking them after the procedure.Hope this helps!

Thank you for your question.  This question is a important, and one that my staff and I will regularly discuss with our patients.  I would check with your surgeon as to whether he/she would like for you to stop the Tramadol before your surgery.  In general, Tramadol does not thin the blood (anti-coagulate) and should not be a problem.  It is important to discuss all medications, over-the-counter medications, herbal supplements you are taking with your surgeon before your procedure.  Certain medications and herbal supplements can thin the blood, which increases your risk for bleeding during surgery.Again, your surgeon will be the one to instruct which medications you need to continue and/or halt before surgery.I hope that this helps!-David Gilpin  

I have no problem with patients taking properly prescribed needed pain medications such as tramadol prior to any surgical procedure including face and neck lifts.  

Tramadol is considered an opioid derivative and not an
NSAID or aspirin like substance. To my knowledge it does 
not affect clotting and I do not stop it before surgery in patients
that are otherwise healthy and have no breathing issues.
If you are going to have anesthesia be sure to discuss it with
the anesthesiologist before your procedure. Best wishes.

Tramadol does not interfere with with blood clotting nor does it contain any blood thinning agent. I would not see this as a reason to turn a patient away from having a Face and Neck Lift. I advise you speak to your plastic surgeon and/or anesthesiologist involved with your procedure if you decide not to have it under local anesthesia for further instruction. 

Tramadol is a narcotic medication that should not interfere with coagulation or increased bleeding tendencies with your facelift surgery. I personally would not have an issue with staying on the tramadol prior to surgery.

It is important for your surgeon, anesthesiologist and your primary care doctors all have a conversation about your health in order to plan medication management  throughout a surgical process

Tramadol does not have an effect on the platelets or any increased incidence of bleeding complications, so I am not sure why you would have to stop it for so long. Only thing I could imagine is that those two surgeons would be concerned that you would have more problems managing your post operative pain. Never mind all the pre operative pain you would have from your back.