Question:
Can drinking alcohol in the weeks prior to surg. cause complications during surg?

I also posted this answer to my question because the responses I received to the previous question were about drinking AFTER surgery, and that's not what I'm worried about. Please help if you can. I don't have a problem giving it up after surgery. What I want to know is will I possibly have complications DURING surgery because I drink a few times a week. I read the answers to someone's question about being an alcoholic and not telling their doctor, and alot of responses said that alcohol thins the blood and with the heparin, it may cause complications. Does this mean that someone who drinks a few times a week might also have these complications? If so, at what point before surgery should I stop drinking, 1 week, 2 weeks, etc? Thanks again! I did tell my doctor that I drank socially and he didn't seem too concerned.    — [Anonymous] (posted on March 30, 2001)

March 30, 2001
Alchohol does thin the blood. I would recomment talking with the Dr. and possibly the Anesthesiologist to get the complete break down. There may be a specific time frame that they need you to be alcohol free to ensure the safest surgery for you. I don't know what the response would be.. I know with my previous surgeries I steered clear a good week before and that seemed to be ok. I would ask again though just to be safe. Good luck.. I understand this question as I too drink socially though it may not be weekly it can sometimes be frequent.
   — Dawn R.

March 30, 2001
I agree with Dawn. Ask your surgeon. He/she would know how long it would take for alcohol to completely clear your system and might want you to be alcohol free,(no herbal tintures, cough syrup, cocktail) for some time before the surgery. Oh, btw, alcohol not only thins the blood and dehydrates your system but also makes the liver work pretty hard too.
   — Lynn E.

March 30, 2001
You did the right thing. You asked your doctor, who said he was not concerned. But then you read the posts from all the "experts" on AMOS and now you're not sure. Shame on you people. Listen friend, they make it sound like "blood thinning" is a bad thing. An impressive body of research demonstrates that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease... because it "thins" the blood. When compared with nondrinkers, moderate drinkers--those who have, on average, one or two drinks a day--live longer and have significantly fewer heart attacks. The biological mechanism at work appears to involve alcohol's boosting effect on both clot-dissolving enzymes and high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol). As far as being hard on your liver, ketosis, pre-op or postop, along with excessive protein intake is just as tough. Not only is the evil alcohol broken down in the liver, but so are your evil sedatives, pain killers, and well as other medications. Listen to your doctor.
   — [Anonymous]