Omega-3 and fish oil supplements do not cause increased bleeding during spinal decompression surgery

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3FA) are popular supplements with known cardioprotective and antiplatelet effects.
• Preoperative cessation of n-3FA is common practice due to bleeding concerns, but lacks specific spinal surgery evidence.
• Limited clinical data exists regarding the impact of n-3FA on spinal surgery outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if preoperative fish oil (n-3FA) supplementation elevates intraoperative blood loss.
• To determine if n-3FA use increases postoperative bleeding complications in lumbar decompression surgery.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case-control study of 95 patients undergoing posterior lumbar decompression.
• Comparison of patients taking n-3FA within 14 days of surgery versus a control group.
• Analysis included demographics, anticoagulant use, surgical duration, blood loss, and complications (hematoma, infection).

Main Results:

• 16 patients took n-3FA, stopping an average of 2.3 days pre-surgery.
• No significant differences in demographics, surgical time, or blood loss between groups (n-3FA: 138 mL vs. control: 154 mL).
• Two bleeding complications occurred in the control group; none in the n-3FA group.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative n-3FA use, even up to 2.3 days before surgery, did not elevate blood loss or bleeding complications.
• Findings align with other surgical specialties, suggesting n-3FA may not increase perioperative bleeding risk.
• Further research is needed for generalization to other spinal surgery types.