Local Infiltration of Tranexamic Acid During Facelift Improves Operating Room Efficiency: A Matched Patient Study

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has rapidly gained popularity in aesthetic surgery. Previous reports have suggested that TXA provides a dry surgical field and significantly reduces operating time during facelift surgery.

The aim of this study was to build upon earlier findings by providing a large cohort matched alongside historic controls and more clearly document time saved when performing facelift surgery.

A retrospective, single-surgeon case-control study was undertaken between July 2016 and October 2021. All patients underwent facelift surgery alone or in combination with fat transfer and perioral chemical peel. All patients received subcutaneous infiltration of 0.5% lidocaine/1:200,000 epinephrine with or without 1 or 2 mg/mL TXA. Patient demographics, TXA dose, surgical time, and minor and major complications were examined.

In total 145 consecutive patients were identified: 73 in Group 1 (no-TXA) and 72 in Group 2 (TXA). No differences in terms of gender distribution (P = 0.75), age (P = 0.54), BMI (P = 0.18), frequency of secondary rhytidectomy (P = 0.08), rate of ancillary lipografting (P = 0.44), TXA dose (P = 0.238), and minor complication rate (P = 0.56) were observed. However, mean surgical time in the no-TXA group was 21 minutes longer than in the TXA group (P = 0.016). Six patients (8%) in the no-TXA group experienced minor complications vs 8 patients (11%) in the TXA group. No patients experienced major complications.

Although previous studies have highlighted the potential benefits of TXA in aesthetic surgery, most of the data remain subjective and non-validated. This report adds to the objective body of evidence supporting TXA in facial aesthetic surgery by documenting time saved in the operating room without additional surgical morbidity.