Resumo

Objectives: To assess the safety and efficacy of maintaining systolic blood pressures of 120mmHg or less post-operatively to reduce hematoma after facelift. Introduction: Hematoma is the most common complication after facelift surgery. Hypertension is the major risk factor for hematoma following facelift. Measures taken to reduce systolic blood pressure peri-operatively significantly reduce the risk of hematoma. There is evidence that treating systolic blood pressure of 140mmHg or above reduces hematoma; there are no studies to date evaluating lowering systolic blood pressures below 120mmHg. Materials / method: A retrospective chart review of a single surgeon series from January 2004 to July 2018 was undertaken. Implementation of a more stringent peri-operative blood pressure protocol (maintaining a systolic blood pressure less than 120mmHg post-operatively) was initiated in January of 2013, dividing subjects into 2 groups. Results: A total of 502 consecutive patients who underwent a facelift by the senior surgeon (FN) were included in the study. A total of 319 patients underwent a facelift prior to 2013, and a total of 183 patients underwent a facelift in 2013 or later. Overall, a total of thirteen hematomas occurred during the entire 15-year study period (2.59%), of which, twelve occurred prior to the implementation of a strict blood pressure regimen (3.76%), and only one occurred after the new protocol (0.5%). There were no adverse events related to the lower blood pressure. Conclusion: Treating systolic blood pressure greater than 120mmHg post-operatively is a safe and effective method to reduce the risk of hematoma after facelift.