Can One Safely Take Fish Oil and EFA Pre and Post Op Facelift?

These have been found to increase bruising and bleeding. Better to avoid them but you should ask your surgeon for their advice.

Fish Oil & EFA Prior to Surgery - You
cannot take Fish Oil or EFA before surgery as it enhances bruising
significantly.

   Fish oil should probably be discontinued 2 weeks prior to facelift.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Short answer: NO !

Omega 3 fats (e.g. fish oil, EFA, flax seed oil, Krill oil), NSAID's (aspirin, ibuprofen, naprosyn), Vitamin E, "blood thinners"  and a whole host of supplements and medicines can cause excessive bleeding and bruising and therefore increase your recovery time. When in doubt stay away from supplements unless they are designed for surgery. I  offer to my patients specific supplements that speed healing, reduce swelling, bruising and in some cases minimize discomfort (for example Bromelain,  Arnica Montanum, and Vitamins designed for surgery.These are available through our office so if you are having problems finding them give us a call .

Bottom Line: Certain vitamins and minerals can speed healing others can cause problems and slow the process down or cause complications. If healing is going well I usually let my patients go back to their usual regimen of supplements.

Patients should be off all supplements 2 weeks prior to a facelift surgery and remain off supplements for 2 weeks after surgery.  Many over-the-counter herbal supplements interfere with a patient's ability to form a blood clot, anesthesia, and the healing process.  Continued use of such supplements will increase bruising and risk of hematomas.  

It is certainly best and in your interest to stop fish oi and efa before and after a facelift. These types of medication will increase your risk of bruising and hematomas

Definitely not. Fish oil, omega 3, flax seed oils reduce your ability to form a blood clot, thus cause increase bleeding. This can be very hazardous for a facelift patient. The result can be bleeding under a skin flap and resulting scarring or deformity. None of the above should be taken for at least two weeks before cosmetic surgery of any kind. These are valuable nutrients, but not before surgery. 

Avoid anything that prolongs blending time such as aspirin, Advil, Aleve, ibuprofen, vitamin E, multivitamins with E, salmon, garlic capsules, or herbs prior to surgery. Procedures can be very challenging for your surgeon when patients are bleeding excessively. This is a great question about an important issue. Thank You.

Supplements represent a special problem for surgeons.  Since supplements are not regulated by the FDA, there is no way to truly know what is in the supplements the patient is taking.  This is why when you read the label on the bottles, they all have a statement declaring that their product and their marketing does not promise anything!  Its in the fine print.

 
That being said, most supplement companies are on the up and up but there just is no way to be sure.  Since you truly do not know what is in the supplement you are taking, the safest thing to do before any surgery; cosmetic or non-cosmetic, is to stop taking them for a period of time-three weeks in my practice.  

Regarding Fish Oil and other similar products; yes there is a good amount of data that demonstrates these products can increase the risk of bleeding both during and after surgery so I would recommend you discontinue your fish oil until after your surgery.

 

As always, please discuss your concerns with your plastic surgeon and I wish you the best of luck.  Hope this helped.

I advise patients to be off all supplements for at least two weeks pre and post-op There is an increased risk of bleeding from fish oils and, as these substances are not regulated by the FDA, the strength stated on the bottle may be inaccurate and your particular EFA could have much more of a blood thinning potential than the label would lead you to believe.

While fish oil has proven to be beneficial in the management of high cholesterol, I prefer that my patients be off the supplement for two weeks prior and two weeks following surgery. It is my opinion that it has a blood thinning effect that puts facelift patients at increased risk for hematoma.