Background: The incidence of thrombotic manifestations during aesthetic procedures may be overwhelming, as it may endanger patients' lives. Lipoabdominoplasty is one of the precarious aesthetic treatments with risk for thrombosis. COVID-19 convalescent patients may have an abnormally high rate of thrombotic events, which should be studied further. Patients with a history of COVID-19 infection who undergo the aesthetic procedure may have a greater risk of thrombosis than non-COVID-19 patients who undergo lipoabdominoplasty.
Methods: Thirty-seven patients who underwent lipoabdominoplasty were followed retrospectively for the occurrence of thrombotic events postoperatively and their relationship to previous COVID-19 infection. The study design comprised an examination of their medical records for prior COVID-19 infection, a history of thrombotic events before, during, or following COVID-19 infection, and D-dimer levels during and after COVID-19 infection. Thrombotic signs were studied in COVID-19 convalescent and non-COVID-19 patients following lipoabdominoplasty. The universal prophylactic measures for anticoagulation were followed.
Results: Four patients out of 37 (10.18%) had thrombotic manifestations, with a high incidence in the COVID-19 convalescent group. The occurrence rate in COVID-19 patients was 30.7%, much higher than the global rate (0.2%). The presence of D-dimers was discovered to be abundant.
Conclusion: Additional precautions should be taken to closely monitor patients with a prior history of COVID-19 infection who seek aesthetic surgery, particularly riskier procedures such as lipoabdominoplasty.
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons.