Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open
October 14, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Lower-extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis after Plastic Surgery: Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in a Retrospective Case Series.
Chen Y, Ouyang R, Zhang H, Yao J, Li Y, Chai H, Hu J.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Across 39,055 general anesthesia procedures, only 5 symptomatic postoperative leg DVTs were identified, and the series points to possible prevention gaps without establishing risk factors.
What was studied
Retrospective single-institution quality improvement case series (January 2020 to May 2024) of 5 ultrasound-confirmed symptomatic lower-extremity DVTs after plastic surgery, with descriptive review of prophylaxis, mobility, management and short-term outcomes.
Key findings
- All 5 DVTs were confirmed by duplex ultrasound, involving posterior tibial, peroneal or calf muscular veins
- Cases were heterogeneous, and several involved prolonged procedures, reoperation for hematoma or delayed mobilization
- Postoperative anticoagulation was given in most cases, while mechanical prophylaxis was not consistently documented
Clinical relevance
Suggests attention to postoperative mechanical prophylaxis documentation and early mobility in complex cases.
Who should care
Limitations
Only 5 events, no comparison group and descriptive analysis, so no risk factors or causes can be inferred; one suspected pulmonary embolism case was excluded.
DVT was very rare here; the series is hypothesis-generating about prevention gaps only.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Background
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant complication in plastic surgery, particularly affecting the lower extremities. Understanding the associated characteristics can aid in developing effective prevention strategies.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective, quality improvement-oriented case series of 5 ultrasound-confirmed symptomatic postoperative lower-extremity DVT events after plastic surgery under general anesthesia at a single institution (January 2020-May 2024). Among 39,055 general anesthesia procedures during the study period, de-identified records were reviewed for patient and procedural characteristics, prophylaxis and mobility pathways, duplex ultrasonography confirmation, management, and short-term outcomes. No non-DVT comparator cohort was extracted; analyses were descriptive and not intended for risk-factor inference. One patient with postoperative chest/back pain and transfer for suspected pulmonary embolism without in-hospital lower-extremity DVT confirmation was excluded from the final case series.
Results
The 5 included cases were clinically heterogeneous and involved complex perioperative settings, including post-massive weight loss body contouring, craniofacial reconstruction with implant use, neurosurgical-related reconstruction, extensive head and neck lesion surgery, and posttraumatic facial reconstruction. All DVTs were confirmed by duplex Doppler ultrasonography, with thrombi involving the posterior tibial, peroneal, or calf muscular veins. Several cases involved prolonged procedures, reoperation for postoperative hematoma, or delayed mobilization. Postoperative anticoagulation was administered in most cases, whereas postoperative mechanical prophylaxis was not consistently documented.
Conclusions
In a very low-frequency setting, this series highlights potentially actionable prevention gaps-especially postoperative mechanical prophylaxis and mobility disruptions-rather than establishing causal risk factors.
DOI
10.1097/gox.0000000000008131
PMID
42871909
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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