Background: Many patients undergoing cutaneous surgery are treated with aspirin due to its proven advantages. Discontinuation of aspirin prior to surgery is still controversial. We conducted a large-scale, prospective study to evaluate the safety of dermatologic surgery in patients receiving aspirin.
Objectives: The authors' objectives were to evaluate the complication rate in patients undergoing cutaneous surgery while treated with aspirin.
Methods: All patients operated on solely by one plastic surgeon were included in the study. The study group included all patients receiving aspirin during surgery, while the rest of the patients comprised the control group. Demographic data, surgery type and complication rate were collected. Complications were classified as major or minor hematoma, wound infection and dehiscence. Statistical significance was calculated using the Student's t-test and Chi test.
Results: During the study period 7259 patients underwent minor cutaneous surgery (without local flaps or skin grafts). A group of 115 patients taking either Plavix (Clopidrogel) or Coumadin (Warfarin) were excluded. The study group consisted of 1088 patients who were taking aspirin regularly while 6056 patients comprised the control group. A statistically significant change was found between the two groups regarding sex, age, background chronic diseases and in the distribution of lesions across the body. No significant change was found regarding the peri-operative complications.
Conclusions: In this large-scale prospective study, dermatologic surgery on patients receiving aspirin was found to be safe, as no statistically different complication rate was found between the study and the control groups. This statement is further emphasized due to the significantly statistically older age, chronic illness rate and the head and neck location of the lesions in the study group.