When to Stop Drinking Alcohol Prior to Surgery?

This is very common and realistic question patients will ask at their preoperative appointment.  The answers vary greatly from surgeon to surgeon.  My recommendation is no alcohol with 48 hours of surgery.  The reason is alcohol is a diuretic (increases the amount you urinate), which could result in you presenting on the day of surgery somewhat dehydrated, potentially creating issues for the anesthesia team.  Also, having alcohol in your system at the time of surgery could interact and potentiate the anesthesia given to you.  Finally, if you routinely have alcohol of some quantity on a routine basis, depending on to what degree of consumption, this can decrease your blood’s ability to clot, and therefore should be reviewed with your surgeon prior to surgery.  Post-operatively you should never consume any alcohol while on pain medication or sleeping medication given for your post-op healing period.

This question also lends to what else should you avoid prior to surgery.  Since plastic surgery is elective, you have plenty of time to stop taking contraindicated medication before your surgery.  The most common non-prescription class of these medications is Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID’s).  This is not an all-inclusive list, but some of the more common over the counter NSAID’s are Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, and Celebrex).  There are cells in your blood called platelets that are crucial for clotting.  Every day your body removes the older ones and manufactures new ones.  NSAID’s inhibit the new platelets clotting function that are created the day you take the medication – a big problem when undergoing surgery of any kind.  Taking these over the counter medications on a daily basis prior to surgery can put you at significant risk for bleeding during or after surgery.   No NSAID’s should be taken for of a minimum of one week before surgery, and two weeks is preferable.  Again, you should discuss this with your surgeon, since many patients usually only list their physician-prescribed medications on their new patient intake forms.  Most good surgeons will give you a list of all non-prescription (i.e. over the counter) medication to be avoided, as well as the time frame before and after surgery.



Finally, Herbs and Vitamins, especially in high doses can also have the side effect of increased bleeding.  The list is extensive, and again your surgeon should be able to provide those to you in advance.  Some of the more common ones would be Vitamin E, Ginger, and Saw Palmetto.  Given the fact these are “supplements”, and not imperative to take, the best advice is to abstain from all of them for at least a week or longer, again depending on what you surgeon recommends. Hope you found this answer helpful.  All the best!

Thank you for your great question!
I think technically most surgeons will recommend no alcohol within 48 hours of surgery as this can potentially interfere with fluid and electrolyte regulation during and after surgery. However, I think most patients who are looking for the best possible result should avoid alcohol for longer than that, somewhere in the range of 4-6 weeks before and after surgery. This puts your body in the best possible situation going into surgery and then allows the body to heal as quickly as possible after surgery. While I am not aware of any scientific studies to confirm this recommendation, anecdotally I see better results when patients do everything possible to take care of their body both before and after surgery.
Hope this helps!Kyle Kimura, MD

Hello and thank you for your question. Moderate alcohol consumption is OK. The key is moderate. I would not recommend heavy alcohol consumption one week before and one week after surgery. But done in moderation is okay up until 24 hours prior to surgery. I recommend that you seek consultation with a qualified board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate you in person.

Best wishes and good luck.

Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon