A medical journal for plastic surgeons recently published a study on the possible complications of taking antidepressants before having cosmetic surgery.
Antidepressant medications alleviate mood disorders by adjusting specific chemicals in the brain, helping with a variety of conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD and obsessive compulsive disorder among others. Furthermore, these medications can also help with symptoms like neuropathy, premenstrual symptoms, hot flashes, and fibromyalgia.
The study published in Science Daily was conducted by a doctor in Dundee, Scotland, Dr. Isabel Teo, and a University of Edinburgh student, Christopher Tam Song. Because antidepressants benefit so many people, this study is very relevant to patients as well as doctors.
Another study which was taken into consideration had found that as many as ten percent of adolescents and adults in the U.S. use antidepressants. Therefore, it was important to find out if this medication increased the risk for complications during or after surgery.
They studied various data and statistics on the correlation of antidepressant use and the risks of cosmetic surgery. The research included 26 studies at different levels involving breast cancer risk, bleeding, breast enlargement and breast cancer outcome.
In regards to bleeding, the researchers studied more than 34,000 patients who had breast reconstruction surgery along with 2,500 patients who had cosmetic surgery. There was no consistent pattern of results. Although the evidence did not rule out a corresponding bleeding risk increase, they indicated that the risks of stopping the medication was not profound.
Likewise, there was not an overwhelming correlation in the data for antidepressant use and a parallel increase in breast cancer risk, enlargement of breasts, or breast cancer outcomes.
In conclusion, the report findings acknowledged some limitations on available data but noted that the possible complications of interrupting the use of antidepressant medication for some patients offset any increased risk they posed with having plastic surgery.
