Newark, N.J. — According to a new study, perioperative use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is not harmful and has no adverse effects for patients undergoing facelift surgery.
The study, led by researchers with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, assessed the rate of hematoma following surgery among a group of 250 patients who underwent a modified deep-plane facelift and 13 patients who received necklifts from January 2010 to May 2011, both SSRI users and nonusers.
Twenty-two percent of the patients had been taking SSRIs or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI). For those taking SSRIs or SNRIs, the total hematoma rate was 1.72 percent, compared to 1.95 percent for nonusers.
“Usage of SSRIs was more common in this large series of facelift 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 study authors wrote. “We found no evidence to support discontinuing SSRIs perioperatively.”
The study was published in the July/August of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
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