Selective Anticoagulant Therapy in Connexion with Prostatectomy

Preoperative anticoagulant therapy was given to 46 selected patients undergoing prostatectomy for benign prostatic hypertrophy. Special indications were cardiac disease, previous venous thromboembolism, respiratory insufficiency, and immobilization. No thromboembolic complications occurred. The blood losses at and after operation seemed to be within normal limits. Only three patients who bled more heavily were treated with an antifibrinolytic agent (epsilon aminocaproic acid) which significantly reduced the bleeding within a few hours. No correlation was found between the systemic fibrinolytic activity and the extent of the bleeding.