Pulmonary Embolism Support Group
By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.
Has anyone had minor surgery whilst taking warfarin?
I am only 13 days post thrombolisis treatment for massive bilateral PE, day 11 on warfarin and have found out i need surgery to remove a lump on my cervix and do some biopsies, gyno also recommends a mirena IUD because warfarin could make my heavy periods even heavier otherwise. He says he'll be happy to operate with an INR of 1.5 to 2 so not much lower than the 2 to 3 that is the therapeutic range. I am opting to wait 2mths for the procedure to allow my lungs time to recover before anesthesia for the op.
I am only 13 days post thrombolisis treatment for massive bilateral PE, day 11 on warfarin and have found out i need surgery to remove a lump on my cervix and do some biopsies, gyno also recommends a mirena IUD because warfarin could make my heavy periods even heavier otherwise. He says he'll be happy to operate with an INR of 1.5 to 2 so not much lower than the 2 to 3 that is the therapeutic range. I am opting to wait 2mths for the procedure to allow my lungs time to recover before anesthesia for the op.
For something like mine, I had to stop warfarin about a week before surgery and start back on the shots. Then, had to stop shots 24 hours before surgery. Had surgery, went back on shots and warfarin about 24 hours after surgery. So, there was a little bit of time there where I was normally coagulating. This "bridging" procedure is pretty common for those of us on warfarin who need to have stuff done.
I would definitely wait a little while to have this done. I'd wait the whole six months if I could, honestly, and just get it done once off warfarin. But, if it is more critical, and the doctor is comfortable with the lower range, then you'll have to talk to the doc who manages your INR to see how they feel about it. Get the doctors to talk to each other and make a plan that they both (and you!) agree on. Make sure you know exactly how you'll be covered before you go in.
Nothing worse than waking up after surgery and having everyone look at you like you're nuts when you start asking for injections. I had that happen and a little planning can go a long way to avoiding that kind of thing.
Also, if he can put in the IUD while you are under, I would totally have him do that! For me, the insertion was the most uncomfortable part.
Best wishes!