One of the most widely recognized and fortunately infrequent complications of major surgery is having a patient develop thromboembolism and die after an elective procedure. Patients should be evaluated for risk factors for thromboembolism before surgery, and measures should be taken to reduce this risk. This article will present the various risks for thromboembolism and suggest the means to prevent or avoid this complication. Special emphasis will be placed on one of the most common errors in cosmetic surgery that increase the risk of thromboembolism: the failure to have the patient stop the use of estrogens at least 4 weeks before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery.
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