Garlic and Surgery

Brought to you by William Pollak D.V.M. and the Fairfield Animal Hospital.

We all know that garlic is good for all kinds of things including improving blood flow. (In humans, it also of course, helps reduce blood pressure.) Garlic performs these improvements to function by decreasing platelet stickiness and by increasing the clotting time. The problem is that this can be a negative factor when we are delaying with a surgical situation. Therefore, it would be advisable if you have patients that are undergoing elective surgery to stop any supplementation of garlic, approximately 7 to 10 days before surgery.