Peri-op antidepressant use safe for face-lift surgery

(HealthDay) -- For patients undergoing face-lift surgery, perioperative use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) seems safe and does not adversely affect outcome, according to a study published in the July/August issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

Sanaz Harirchian, M.D., from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, and colleagues assessed the rate of post-face-lift hematoma among SSRI users and nonusers. The incidence of postoperative hematoma was examined in the medical charts of 250 consecutive patients who underwent a modified deep-plane face-lift and 13 patients who underwent neck-lift from January 2010 to May 2011.

The researchers found that 22 percent of patients were taking SSRIs or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). The total hematoma (major and minor) rate was 1.72 percent for SSRI/SNRI users and 1.95 percent for SSRI/SNRI nonusers. The rate of minor hematomas was 0 percent for users and 1.95 percent among nonusers, while the major hematoma rate was 1.72 percent for users and 0 percent for nonusers.

"Usage of SSRIs was more common in this large series of face-lift patients than in the general population. In these patients, SSRIs in the perioperative period are found to be safe and did not seem to adversely affect outcome," the authors write. "We found no evidence to support discontinuing SSRIs perioperatively."

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