There are important reasons for establishing an accurate medication list during your pre-operative assessment, particularly when it comes to medications that thin your blood.
- It makes clear that you have an active medical condition, particularly regarding:
- Heart disease.
- Prosthetic heart valves
- Abnormal heart rhythm.
- Stroke.
- Clotting disorders.
- To decide whether it is safe for you to stop any of those medications.
** Do not stop any medications without specific discussion with Dr Tai Smith, your GP or physician. Stopping some medications can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack and death.**
Remember, your health and safety is paramount: your surgery may be deferred until Dr Smith has communicated with your other doctors.
Intraoperative bleeding Blood obscures what the surgeon can see in the operative field so every effort is made to control bleeding. If there is minimal bleeding, then the duration of the surgical procedure will often be shorter. Stopping anti-coagulant or blood thinning medications returns the blood to a normal consistency, meaning bleeding is easier to control and blood loss will be minimised.
Bruising and swelling Bruising and swelling occurs as a consequence of most Oculoplastic procedures, because of the thin eyelid skin and the underlying well vascularised muscle layer. Those that need to continue their blood thinners may find that they have a greater degree of bruising, which rarely affects the outcome of surgery, but does increase recovery time. Patients are given written instructions on how to deal best with post-operative bleeding, bruising and swelling.
Restarting your blood thinning medications If you have stopped your medications in consultation with Dr Smith and your GP or physician, then you will likely be advised to restart those medications one day after the completion of your surgery.
Herbal supplements and blood thinning Some supplements are known to thin the blood and so it is useful to stop these before surgery.