quick blog.
If you do breast cancer reconstruction using an abdominal flap (TRAM or DIEP), are there risk factors which increase your risk of pulmonary embolus?
All surgeries have the risk of PE. The issue with a PE is it interferes with your ability to breathe. It is rare, but serious, because if large enough it can cause death. If there is a way to predict who is at higher risk, (please see my blogs on the Caprini risk score) we should know.
Study: Study out of Netherlands in the June 2013 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, “Pulmonary Embolism after Abdominal Flap Breast Reconstruction: Prediction and Prevention.” Retrospective look at 430 cases from 2005-2011. Prevention methods included early ambulation, TED hose, SCDs, low molecular weight heparin.
Findings?
- 4% rate of PE. It presented 2-10 days out.
- Two independent predictors were found to be statistically significant:
- BMI over 25 (and even higher risk if over 28)
- BRCA positive
- They found correlations but not statistically significant with length of surgery and bilateral surgery