New UMC Study Shows Importance Of Blood Thinners & Timing

A new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine reports that holding blood thinners for too long could jeopardize the success of surgeries, especially in older adults..

The researchers examined the outcomes of 470 patients who underwent free flap reconstruction, a common technique in head and neck surgeries that involves transplanting tissue from one part of the body to another, and found that most blood thinners were not associated with increased complications.

Complications did occur in about 17% of patients overall including those not taking blood thinners.

The real risk came from stopping blood thinners too early before surgery and waiting too long to restart them afterward.

The average wait time to resume blood thinners was five days after surgery but may not be necessary anymore in light of the information revealed from the UMC research.