A retrospective unicentric cohort study, evaluating the impact of tranexamic acid on autologous free flap tissue reconstruction.

Background: The use of tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to be effective in reducing haemorrhage and mortality in numerous surgical settings. However, its use in plastic surgery has been limited due to misconceptions related to increased thrombotic events in microsurgery.

Methods: We performed a retrospective single-centre cohort study including any patients who underwent autologous free flap tissue transfer at Lister Hospital, Stevenage, from 1 January 2016-20 April 2022. The Chi-squared test was used to determine if there were any significant differences between the proportion of patients who developed any evidence of microvascular thrombosis, flap failure, or return to theatre, and univariate logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio.

Results: The treatment group (N = 160) received TXA (1 g intravenous) at the time of general anaesthetic induction as per the senior author's routine practice, while the control group (N = 80) did not receive TXA at any point of the hospital admission, according to the normal practice of other surgeons. No differences were found between the proportion of patients who developed microvascular thrombotic complications between the TXA and control group, contributing evidence that TXA is safe to use in microvascular surgery.

Conclusion: TXA may have a role in improving outcomes in plastic surgery procedures by reducing the need for blood transfusions and through anti-inflammatory effects. Our study shows that TXA administration did not increase microvascular thrombosis in free flap reconstructive surgery, contributing evidence that TXA is safe to use in microvascular surgery, however further larger studies are required to improve the power of this study.