Safety and Outcomes in Multiplane Facial Rejuvenation with Tranexamic Acid: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) has demonstrated promising outcomes in plastic surgery. Our aim was to assess the effect of TXA in intraoperative bleeding, operative time, and complications among patients undergoing facial surgical procedures. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent multiplane facial rhytidectomy from January 2018 to September 2022 at the Clinica Ziegler, Lima, Peru. Patients were divided into two groups according to the use of intravenous plus local infiltration of TXA. We performed the chi square test to assess associations among categorical variables, the Student t test and Mann–Whitney U test for categorical with continuous variables, and Pearson correlation for quantitative variables. Results: A total of 100 patients were included with 50 patients in each group. The median age was 59.5 years and the majority were women (88%). The median operative time was 288.5 minutes. The TXA group presented less intraoperative bleeding (40 versus 90 mL, P < 0.05) and shorter operative time (237 versus 353 minutes, P < 0.05); no differences in the development of hematoma (2% versus 12%, P = 0.11), less ecchymosis (2% versus 36%, P < 0.05), edema (2% versus 100%, P < 0.05), and time to drain removal (3 versus 6 days, P < 0.05). Conclusions: TXA improves the short- and long-term outcomes of patients who undergo multiplane facial rhytidectomy. It also decreases intraoperative bleeding by more than half and reduces the operative time by one third. Moreover, patients receiving TXA presented significantly less ecchymosis, edema, and time to drain removal.