What antibiotics or medicines are given in the IV before and during surgery?

Typically we give a lorazepam pill (which is like a valium) and clonidine pill (which keeps your blood pressure under control) when you are in the changing room before you go into the operating room.  In the operating room, if you wish a little iv sedation then we start an iv and give you a little versed and demerol for comfort.  Fluoroquinolones are not used. These combinations make you very comfortable and you have a great pleasant experience with your liposuction procedure.  Most patients are watching movies with our DVD headset through the whole procedure.  Because they are so comfortable and awake, they are able to turn in all positions and even stand up so I can fine tune the results nicely.

Patients who have certain risk factors for bacterial infection are administered IV antibiotics one hour before the surgical incision. The most commonly administered drug is cefazolin (Ancef, Kefzol), but your PS may have a different protocol.

It really depends if the surgery is being performed under general anesthesia or sedation.  I typically perform liposuction under general anesthesia in the operating room rather than in an in office setting.  I feel that there is better control of the patient and more comfort for the patient when general anesthesia is used, not to mention the sterility factor.Protocol is to have antibiotics given within 60 minutes of making the incision.  Most often the antibiotic used in plastic surgery is Ancef, which is a cephalosporin.  If patient is allergic to Ancef (cefazolin) then other antibiotics would be used, some include Clindamycin, Vancomycin or levaquin/cipro.Hope that helps.

Dear Anna B.,every plastic surgeon has his own pre/postoperative protocol which he uses. I would suggest you to discuss this with your plastic surgeon.Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello and thank you for the question. For the majority of plastic surgery procedures involving skin and soft tissues, an antibiotic effective against skin bacteria is administered within 30 minutes prior to start of surgery. First generation cephalosporins (e.g. Cefazolin or Ancef) is probably the most common antibiotic used for pre-operative prophylaxis. In patients allergic to penicillin, your surgeons might choose to use other agents (Vancomycin, Clindamycin, etc). Fluoroquinolones are not commonly used in this setting. Best,Pejman Aflaki, M.D.Johns Hopkins-trained plastic surgeon