Ketorolac Does Not Increase Perioperative Bleeding

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Sir: Despite the assurance of a well-designed and rigorous meta-analysis showing no increased overall risk of perioperative surgical bleeding with ketorolac, we would echo and emphasize the authors’ caveat that one be selective in its use as determined by the type of procedure and patient risk. We recently published the experience at our center with the use of ketorolac in reduction mammaplasty, demonstrating a significant increase in surgical bleeding complications in patients treated with this agent.1 Admittedly, our study design lacked the precision of a randomized and blinded trial, but the data are compelling enough to arguably preclude one even being attempted. We feel that ketorolac should not be used in outpatient and short-stay surgical procedures where there is extensive surgical undermining in subcutaneous and prefascial tissue planes where large bleeding surfaces obscured by subcutaneous fat are created. Notwithstanding the obvious opioid-sparing benefit of ketorolac in these settings, we have stopped the routine use of this agent for reduction mammaplasty and abdominoplasty procedures. However, the authors have convincingly demonstrated a wide array of surgical settings in plastic surgery where ketorolac remains a useful therapeutic adjunct for postoperative analgesia. DISCLOSURE The authors have no financial interest in any of the products, devices, or drugs mentioned in this communication. John S. D. Davidson, M.D. Department of Surgery Division of Plastic Surgery Kim Turner, M.D.