Patients prescribed antithrombotic medication in elective implant-based breast reconstruction are high risk for major thrombotic complications

Introduction: Implant-based reconstruction (IBR) is the most frequently performed breast reconstruction procedure in the USA. As the US population ages, an increasing number of these patients suffer from comorbidities requiring the use of chronic antithrombotic therapy. Outcomes following IBR in patients prescribed these medications are not well understood.

Materials/patients and methods: An all-payor administrative claims database (52 million patients) was queried for patients undergoing IBR from 2010 through 2018. Patients who were prescribed therapeutic antithrombotic therapy, and those who were not, were matched in a one-to-one fashion for comorbidities independently associated with bleeding and thrombo-ischemic events following first-stage IBR. Cox proportional hazards models investigated the 90-day risk of bleeding and major thrombo-ischemic events following IBR.

Results: Of the 36,379 patients found to have undergone IBR, 2,024 patients were perfectly matched for age and high-risk comorbidities. Patients prescribed antithrombotic drugs had increased 90-day risk for all thrombo-ischemic complications (HR: 5.62, 95% CI: 3.53-8.95, p < 0.0001), as well as a significantly increased risk for 90-day DVT, 90-day PE, 90-day myocardial infarction, and 90-day stroke. Patients specifically prescribed antiplatelet drugs, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC), and warfarin had a significantly increased risk for transfusion.

Conclusion: Patients prescribed antithrombotic therapy had a significantly increased risk for life-threatening thrombotic events and transfusion following elective IBR. This suggests a role for further monitoring and a potential role for multi- and interdisciplinary interventions to help mitigate this risk. These interventions can be the subject of future prospective studies.