LAUSR

BACKGROUND Reducing the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a top priority in optimizing patient safety in abdominal body contouring surgery. There is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal chemoprophylactic agent for postoperative VTE prophylaxis, and the role of oral anticoagulants warrants further investigation. OBJECTIVES The aim of this multi-surgeon, single-institution study was to determine the safety and efficacy of a seven-day postoperative rivaroxaban regimen for VTE prophylaxis in abdominal body contouring surgery. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients who underwent abdominoplasty, circumferential body lift, fleur-de-lis panniculectomy (FDL) and circumferential FDL at our surgical center from August 2014 to November 2019. A seven-day postoperative course of once-daily 10 mg rivaroxaban, starting on postoperative day one, was administered to every patient unless there was a contraindication. The two primary endpoints were the incidence of VTE and bleeding events. RESULTS A total of 600 patients were included in the study. There were no deaths. There were 4 (0.7%) incidents of VTE events. Two (0.3%) patients suffered a PE and 2 (0.3%) patients suffered a lower extremity DVT. A total of 13 (2.2%) patients suffered complications related to bleeding. Of these, operative intervention for control and evacuation was required in 7 (1.2%) patients. CONCLUSIONS A seven-day postoperative course of once-daily rivaroxaban for VTE risk reduction in abdominal body contouring surgery is associated with a low incidence of VTE events and low risk of bleeding complications.