Study: Subcutaneous heparin reduces VTE incidence following IPP surgery
"What we saw among over 400 patients [was] that indeed, subcutaneous heparin did not increase the hematoma chance, but it reduced the chance to have venous thrombotic events," says Thairo Pereira, MD.
In this interview, Thairo Pereira, MD, highlights the background and key findings from the study, “Peri-operative subcutaneous heparin is safe and reduces incidence of venous thromboembolism following placement of inflatable penile prostheses,” which was presented at the 2024 American Urological Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Pereira is an andrology fellow at the University of Indiana in Indianapolis.
Video Transcript:
Patients undergoing IPP surgery have several risk factors for cardiovascular events, such as VTE. Our project aimed to identify and assess the safety of using subcutaneous heparin perioperatively in patients undergoing IPP surgery. The idea is subcutaneous heparin could reduce the chance to have a VTE post-op, without increasing the risk to have hematomas postoperatively. We revealed all patients that underwent IPP in our hospital in the past 2 years, 50% of them received subcutaneous heparin perioperatively, and 50% did not. What we saw among over 400 patients [was] that indeed, subcutaneous heparin did not increase the hematoma chance, but it reduced the chance to have venous thrombotic events. Actually, we found that patients that did not receive subcutaneous heparin had an incidence for VTE of 0.71% vs 0 in patients that did receive subcutaneous heparin.
This transcription has been edited for clarity.
