Preoperative dosing of low-molecular-weight heparin in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery

Venous thromboembolism is a common cause of morbidity. Guidelines recommend perioperative thromboprophylaxis, but clinicians remain cautious of bleeding after major oncologic resections.

Retrospective analysis of a single institution's prospective hepatopancreatobiliary database was performed for patients undergoing surgery between January 2010 and February 2013. A total of 223 patients received postoperative thromboprophylaxis and 93 patients were dosed with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) preoperatively.

Two hundred twenty-three patients were analyzed; 50.6% underwent pancreatic and 49.3% underwent liver resection. There were no differences in previous venous thromboembolism (3.8% vs 3.3%; P = .56) or preoperative venous thromboembolism scores (5.74 vs 5.67; P = .82). Estimated blood loss (537 mL vs 592 mL; P = .54), transfusions (25.4% vs 30.4%; P = .25), and complications (52.3% vs 43.5%; P = .12) were equivalent. Incidence of thromboembolic events was lower (6.1% vs 1.1%; P = .05); however, bleeding requiring intervention was increased in the preoperative LMWH group (10.9% vs 3.1%; P = .026).

Caution must be exercised when using LMWH, as bleeding remains a concern for oncologic hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.