If a patient has high blood pressure, a surgeon may be unwilling to perform an operation, including plastic surgery, as high blood pressure can cause a number of complications when it comes to surgical procedures. However, if you can reduce your blood pressure before surgery or undergo surgery with an experienced anesthesiologist and surgeon, high blood pressure does not have to be the reason to avoid plastic surgery.

What Is Normal Blood Pressure?

Normal blood pressure can vary from person to person. In general, most healthy people have blood pressure between 90/50 and 120/90, though 120/80 is considered to be perfect blood pressure. Most nurses will look for blood pressure below 120/80 and above 90/50. Any higher than those numbers, and the person is considered to be in pre-hypertension. Any lower than those numbers is also considered dangerous.

High blood pressure is indicative of too much strain being put on the heart and the blood vessels, which is dangerous in any situation, but especially in surgery, when the heart and the entire body is under more strain than it usually is.

How Can Blood Pressure Be Reduced?

Blood pressure can be reduced both through diet and through taking blood pressure medication. Some foods will increase blood pressure, especially those that have a high salt and fat content. Not only do fat and salt thicken the blood, they also thicken the walls of the blood vessels, making them less flexible. By reducing foods that contain fat and salt, an individual can lower his or her blood pressure.

In addition, asking a doctor for a medication that thins the blood can also improve blood pressure readings, though such medications can be dangerous to take when undergoing a procedure, as they increase the risk of bleeding and make it more difficult for the blood to clot.

What Are the Risks of Surgery with High Blood Pressure?

Bleeding

If a patient is taking a blood thinning medication, there are serious risks of bleeding, both externally and internally, while on the operating bed. The simple solution to this problem is to stop taking the blood thinning medication for the surgery and then continue it afterwards.

Doctors and surgeons cannot always see and identify internal bleeding if it occurs, until it becomes a serious problem. In surgeries like breast augmentation, for example, the risk of internal bleeding is heightened because of the level of internal trauma that implants cause. Mitigating this risk by lowering the dosage of or, with a doctor's approval, stopping a blood thinning medication is the best course of action.

Hematoma

A hematoma is a blood clot that causes swelling in the body. High blood pressure can be the result of improved blood flow. Making an incision in the skin can cause enough trauma to an artery or vein that the blood clot blocks a vein and causes a swelling underneath the skin.

Heart Problems

Heart problems may occur during a plastic surgery, because anesthesia changes breathing and circulation patterns. The surgeon and anesthesiologist should monitor this and ensure the patient does not have a significant heart problem.

Contact Dr. Paul Pin to schedule a plastic surgery consultation.