Re: Blood donations- transfusions?

[Guest guest]

The first OS i was going to use was very adamant about getting 2 units

of blood off of me pre-surgery. What he explained to me was that most

patients don't require it but it's just in case of emergencies, they

prefer to use your blood rather than a donor's. He did emphasize

however that these emergencies are extremely rare but he liked to be

safer rather than sorrier. He also said that often he liked to repump

back in the blood into his patients towards the end of the surgery to

give them an extra iron boost - no better boost than from your own

blood. In his experience he found that patients recovered a lot more

quickly if administered some of their own blood at the end of surgery.

Now, my new OS has not mentioned anything about blood transfusions and

I guess I'll have to wait until my pre-admin testing to see whether the

hospital takes blood or not. I think really it depends on how

conservative the doctor is because really, everyone, both conservative

and daring doctors have emphasized to me that the case of complications

during orthognathic surgery is very remote.

Sara

>

> Hay all,

>

> I have seen a couple of times different ones asking how common it is

> to have the doctor request blood donations. I am having lower jaw

> with possible upper, and I also was told by the nurse that they would

> arrange for me to start coming in a month or so before the surgery to

> donate my blood. My question is, have any of you who have already

> been through their surgery had such a blood loss that their doctor

> transfused them?

>

> Connie

[Guest guest]

According to a nurse friend who works for the Canadian Bloodservices

(formerly Red Cross administered the blood supply in Canada), giving

a lot of blood prior to surgery can cause a need for it. My surger

for upper/lower/genio was only 3.5 hours long (my surgeon is

efficient) and I lost very little blood. Even post-op, my husband

(who was trained by the nurses to suction my mouth) said he didn't

have to do so, there was very little bleeding post-op.

One way of giving yourself an iron boost is to take supplements. This

same friend suggested a liquid supplement called Floradix (iron/b vit

supplement) that can be purchased at any good health food store. My

massage therapist also suggested it was a good idea. She said to take

a dose each day leading up to the surgery, and then two doses a day

post-op, which I did.

I would ask your surgeon about it - I did, and he assured me that it

wouldn't be necessary.

You should also know that your donated blood will go to waste if it's

not used. This is because they do not subject it to the testing that

is used when blood is donated to others - they figure that if you've

got a disease that can be transmitted through the blood, it won't

matter if you get it back again through a transfusion of your own

blood. It's also expensive since they have to track your own blood

through their system.

Hope that helps,

>

> Hay all,

>

> I have seen a couple of times different ones asking how common it

is

> to have the doctor request blood donations. I am having lower jaw

> with possible upper, and I also was told by the nurse that they

would

> arrange for me to start coming in a month or so before the surgery

to

> donate my blood. My question is, have any of you who have already

> been through their surgery had such a blood loss that their doctor

> transfused them?

>

> Connie