Table 1.

Bleeding risk associated with different types of surgery

Moderate to high riskLow risk

  • Neurosurgery

  • Spinal/epidural surgical procedures

  • Urologic surgery and procedures

  • Vascular surgery

  • GI surgery – major intra-abdominal

  • Orthopaedic joint surgery

  • Breast surgery

  • Thoracic surgery

  • Invasive ophthalmic surgery

  • Reconstructive plastic surgery

  • Pacemaker/ICD implantation

  • Liver biopsy

  • Minor dermatological surgery, eg skin biopsy

  • Cataract or glaucoma surgery

  • Dental procedures, eg simple extractions

  • Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

  • Biopsy of a compressible site

  • Joint aspiration/injection

  • ICD = Implantable cardioverter defibrillator; GI = gastrointestinal

  • Adapted with permission from Douketis et al.33