Should I Stop Aspirin ?, and How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Question

I took aspirin everyday for 3 years old by Lupus, but want to get liposuction, What do I do? Should I stop aspirin ? and how long should I stop it before surgery?

Ramin Behmand, MD, FACS · Answer

Aspirin is recommended on a daily basis by many primary care physicians and cardiologists to help prevent heart attacks and emboli related to blood clots. Aspirin's effectiveness comes from its ability to inhibit proper function of the platelets that are circulating in your blood system.  Platelets are one of the main ways your body stops prolonged bleeding and help blood to clot.  Without them, bleeding can be persistent.  Once you take Aspirin, all the circulating platelets in your body become disabled. Then, your body needs to make new platelets which are functioning properly when there is no exposure to Aspirin.  Your body will make new platelets at such a rate that it takes about 10 days to replace all the disabled platelets. That means, once you stop taking Aspirin, the proportion of functional platelets in your body changes by 10 percent a day. The first day you have 10% normal functioning platelets and the third day you have 30% normal functioning platelets.  Until day ten, when all (100%) of your platelets are functioning normally again. Therefore, a patient preparing to have surgery, would want to stop taking any Aspirin 10 days before a surgical procedure to avoid potential bleeding complications either while in surgery or after surgery.  You may want to discuss this with your rheumatologist ahead of time.

Jerome Edelstein, MD · Answer

You should talk to your surgeon about this. Aspirin shouldn't be taken for at least 2 weeks before your surgery.

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

You should definitely stop aspirin 7 to 10 days before surgery. The greater concern is that if you take other Lupus medications they may cause issues. Particularly if you're taking prednisone or some type of immune suppressing medications.  You should visit with several BC PS to see if you are a suitable candidate for cosmetic surgery.

	Dr. ES

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Aspirin should be discontinued two weeks prior to elective surgery.  Whether this is advisable given the status of the SLE should be coordinated with your medical doctor or rheumatologist.  Localized fatty deposition can be improved with liposuction and your shape can be dramatically improved with the right surgeon.  Liposuction results are highly surgeon dependent.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of liposuction procedures each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.

	 

	Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Remus Repta, MD · Answer

Hello,

	Thank you for the question.  There is no exact timeframe to stop aspirin before surgery as a little might help to prevent blood clots, a lot of aspirin will cause unnecessary bleeding and bruising.  A few weeks before surgery for tumescent liposuction is probably fine.

	All the best,

	Dr Remus Repta

Should I Stop Aspirin ?, and How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answers (10)

Answer: Should I Stop Aspirin? How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answer: Should I Stop Aspirin? How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answer: You should stop aspirin a few weeks before surgery

Answer: You should stop aspirin a few weeks before surgery

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Should I Stop Aspirin ?, and How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answers (10)

Answer: Should I Stop Aspirin? How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answer: Should I Stop Aspirin? How Long Should I Stop It Before Surgery?

Answer: You should stop aspirin a few weeks before surgery

Answer: You should stop aspirin a few weeks before surgery

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Liposuction

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.