Decrease Venous Thromboembolism Without Anticoagulation in Plastic Surgery: The Paradigm of Risk Identification, Risk Modification, and Risk Reduction

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important patient safety issue and potentially a life or limb threatening complication that can occur following plastic surgery. Patients are at different levels of VTE risk, based on patient-centric and procedure-specific risks. The following review discusses the paradigms of risk identification, risk modification and risk reduction for VTE risk in plastic surgery, with an ultimate goal of reducing VTE risk and improving patient safety.