Should I stop taking birth control for breast augmentation?

Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli can represent life threatening conditions. Both birth control pills and estrogen replacement have been associated with these conditions. For these reasons, we recommend that patients stop birth control pills two weeks prior to breast augmentation surgery.

This is an important question. Birth control pills can increase your risk for clotting especially in the first several months. I would discuss this issue at length with your gynecologist and plastic surgeon for specific recommendations tailored to you and the procedures performed.

You should stop taking birth control pills and estrogen replacement therapy about four to six weeks before surgery because of the risk of blood clots. If your surgeon advised you to stop, then please listen to them.

A breast augmentation is a short surgical procedure with little increase in risk of VTE events. It is probably not necessary to stop these medications in the peri-operative period. However, if breast augmentation is combined with other procedures and operative times are prolonged beyond three hours, its wise to stop the OCPs.

Hi there-

As you can see, opinions vary...

The bottom line... For short procedures in a patient with no elevated risks, there is no reason to stop your contraceptives.

If you have a reason to have an elevated risk for blood clots, or the procedure is longer than an hour or so, or if you simply want your risks to be as low as is possible, I would recommend stopping them.