Interventions for preventing venous thromboembolism following abdominal aortic surgery.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of the most common, preventable complications of surgery. Although the relationship between surgery and DVT is well established in general surgical operations and most other subspecialties, the same cannot be said about arterial surgery. Deep vein thrombosis is believed to be less common in aortic surgery where its management is rather controversial with a reported incidence of DVT from 2% to 18%.Intra-operative heparin is believed to provide protection during the period when DVT is most likely to develop. However, the practice of using intra-operative heparin could increase the risk of haemorrhagic complications if further heparin is used during the recovery period. This can significantly limit the use of such prophylactic measures especially with the low perceived risk of venous thromboembolism (DVT or pulmonary embolism (PE)) following abdominal aortic surgery. However, vascular patients are usually older, with more co-morbidity and are subject to prolonged immobility, all of which increase the likelihood of developing venous thromboembolism.