How can high blood pressure affect oral surgery?
Phoenix Oral & Facial Surgery
You may experience elevated blood pressure during stressful conditions even if you do not have hypertension. This is a common occurrence in an oral surgery clinic as people are a little anxious and fearful about the procedure. In such cases, a few deep breaths and relaxation can get you up to normal. Hypertensive patients who are on treatment and have good blood pressure control can also undergo surgery without any problems. However, elevated blood pressure proves to be a contraindication for surgery, and your surgery will be put on hold until your blood pressure is regulated within normal limits.
This is because elevated blood pressure can lead to more bleeding episodes, and loss of blood during surgery can be greater than expected. In such cases, proper control of bleeding becomes challenging during surgery. This puts the patient at risk of shock or even a cardiac episode which can threaten life. Therefore, in such a situation where the blood pressure is too high, the surgery is postponed.
Another reason is the use of anesthesia. Many minor oral surgical procedures are carried out under local anesthesia. The most commonly used drug for this is lidocaine which is mixed with adrenaline which contributes to proper control of bleeding during the procedure. However, adrenaline also elevates blood pressure. Therefore, in patients with hypertension, oral surgeons use plain lidocaine and adjust the dosage accordingly to prevent such a complication from arising.
In addition, many analgesics used for pain control can contribute to high blood pressure and, therefore, cannot be used for hypertension patients. Consequently, your oral surgeon must know your blood pressure, your past medical history, and any medication you may be taking. Various medicines may interact with each other which may lead to complications. Therefore, it is essential for an oral surgeon to know every medication you are taking since this may affect your surgery and your body’s healing capacity.