Lack of evidence for increased risk of postoperative bleeding after cutaneous surgery in the head and neck in patients taking aspirin

  • Wolfgang Eichhorn
  • Lan Kluwe
  • Max Heiland
  • Alexander Gröbe

Abstract

Cutaneous surgery in the head and neck carries an intermediate risk of bleeding, so many surgeons stop anticoagulant treatment perioperatively despite the risk of cardiovascular events. We reviewed many procedures done in patients who were taking aspirin, and we did not find evidence of significantly increased postoperative bleeding compared with procedures in patients who were not taking aspirin (10/259=4% compared with 6/209=3%, p=0.6). Our results suggest that cutaneous surgery in the head and neck is safe for patients taking aspirin.

Bibliographical data

Original languageEnglish
ISSN0266-4356
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
PubMed 24703383