According to two new studies, plastic surgery patients are at significant risk of persistent opioid use; plastic surgeons prescribe nearly double the number of opioid tablets consumed after outpatient procedures; and guidelines are needed to better balance under- and over-prescribing of opioids after plastic surgery procedures.
In one study published March 7, 2019, in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery researchers studied persistent opioid use after plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures of the nose, eye, breast, abdomen and soft tissue in a population of about 467,000 patients. They found about half of those patients filled prescriptions for postoperative pain relievers and nearly all the prescriptions filled were for opioids.
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