Surgical implications of hypercoagulable syndromes

The advent of improved diagnostic tests for primary hypercoagulability has led to increased recognition of this entity as a problem in surgical patients. We treated 20 patients with documented evidence of increased coagulability from 1975 to 1995. Clinical presentations included venous (16) and arterial (4) thrombosis. Symptoms usually occurred early in life (mean age, 38 years) and developed spontaneously without a secondary inciting event or factor. Deficiencies in naturally occurring anticoagulant proteins including antithrombin III (n = 7), protein C (n = 3), and protein S (n = 1) were seen, as were problems with lupus anticoagulant (n = 2) and anticardiolipin antibody (n = 4) deficiencies. Treatment of these patients is difficult, and results are often suboptimal. A total of 12 vascular reconstructions were required in 5 of the 20 patients; 11 eventually failed. Patients with primary venous thrombosis were often successfully treated with anticoagulant therapy in the short term but fared less well in the long term. There were three deaths directly related to thrombotic complications. Surgeons may encounter patients with primary hypercoagulable syndromes. The diagnosis should be expected in patients with unusual patterns of vascular disease or arterial or venous thrombosis without cause or at an early age, or in patients with recurrent or migratory clotting. Evaluation of this population, although expensive, is indicated. Treatment with chronic anticoagulation is also generally indicated. Arterial reconstruction in this subset of patients usually leads to a poor outcome.