Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Plastic Surgery: A Literature Review

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major health concern because it increases morbidity and mortality after a surgical procedure. A number of well-defined, evidence-based guidelines are available delineating suitable use of prophylaxis to prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Despite the available literature, there are clear gaps between recommendations and clinical practice, affecting the incidence of VTE. Plastic surgeons underuse the substantiated literature and risk stratification tools that are available to decrease the incidence of VTE in the office-based surgical setting because of fear of bleeding or hematoma complications postoperatively. Venous thromboembolism creates an economic burden on both the patient and the healthcare system. The intent of this literature review is to determine existing VTE risk using assessment models available to aid in the implementation of protocols for VTE prevention, specifically for high-risk cosmetic surgical patients in office-based settings.