Did anyone have an issue with their PTT?

From what I understand PTT is the length of time it takes your blood to clot.  The normal range is 25-35 seconds, mine is 38, and I am worried it is going to delay my surgery date.  Has anyone else had this issue, and if so what did you do?

That is a little high, but not excessively so. (For someone who is taking blood thinners, a therapeutic level would be twice that (or more), so just being up a couple of seconds isn't much).  I have had surgery with a slightly elevated PTT and INR (higher than yours) without incident when we did not allow quite enough time between stopping my anticoagulant and having surgery, but it would obviously be up to your surgeon to decide whether your level would prevent surgery.  (S)he might want to repeat the test, or might opt to give you a Vitamin K injection prior to surgery.  The surgeon might also want additional testing before making a decision on surgery.

There are a number of things that can cause a prolonged PTT value... If you had recently taken any products containing aspirin, any antihistamines, or even a significant amount of Vit C, that would affect the lab result.  A Vit K deficiency can also cause prolonged PTT.

You could also have some kind of slight inherited clotting deficiency. There are also some physical issues that could cause it to be a bit high (a liver function problem or rheumatoid arthritis, for example).  Did they also do a PT or an INR?  The PT combined with the PTT can give the doctor some guidance as to what might be going on.

Lora

Hi Lora...I just want to say that I really appreciate reading your responses. They are detailed and thorough and I always feel a little smarter after I read one. :)  I see you have a PhD in your name and was just wondering what your background is? Obviously something in healthcare? Thanks again. Chris

Actually, it is a PhD in Psychology.  

I currently do Psych evals part time for a bariatric surgical group, though, so I get a lot of info form them and from some of the periodicals the surgeons subscribe to.  

I also had the first of a number of incidents of DVTs back when I was a Senior in High School in 1979 and have pretty much been on anticoagulant therapy constantly since then (each time I tried to dIsco to use the medication, I developed a new clot). I have had a couple of problems with PT/PTT/INR levels that were way too high and resulted in spontaneous bruising and internal bleeding, with having to get coagulation levels down very quickly for emergency surgery, and with having to juggle Coumadin and Lovenox doses before and after scheduled surgeries.  

So I know a LOT about anticoagulation and and related lab tests, LOL.

Lora

I had my blood work done a week before surgery and mine was just a tad over normal.  My doctor recommended more testing and the results came back the day before my surgery. The doctors told me that this wouldn't have stopped my surgery, it would have just given the surgeon more things to prepare for in case something went wrong. 

My test results all came back normal the second time, so maybe if they retest you, you'll be fine. 

Good luck! 

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your feedback.  My Dr. put me on an over the counter vitamin K and todays results show it brought it down from 38 to 37.6, she says this level will not delay my surgery, but wants me to continue with the vitamin K and we will check again in about 10 days.

Keeping my fingers crossed :)