Can surgery proceed with aspirin in patient's system?

It depends. Aspirin irreversibly inhibits platelets, so it raises bleeding risk for surgery. Whether you can proceed with aspirin in the system depends on the type of surgery and the reason for taking aspirin.

Key points to consider:
- If the surgery is elective and high-bleeding-risk (major abdominal, neurosurgery, eye/spine, certain dental procedures), many guidelines suggest stopping low-dose aspirin about 5–7 days before, after weighing thrombotic risk.
- If the surgery is low-bleeding-risk (some minor procedures) or if aspirin is essential for preventing a heart attack or stroke (secondary prevention), continuing aspirin may be appropriate. In such cases, the surgical team and a cardiologist often decide together.
- If the patient recently had a stent or has high thrombotic risk, stopping aspirin may not be advised; in those cases, timing of the surgery may be adjusted to minimize risk, or alternatives may be discussed.

Practical steps:
- Identify the exact indication for aspirin (secondary prevention vs primary prevention) and the timing of any recent cardiovascular events or stent placement.
- Discuss with the surgical team and cardiologist/primary care physician whether to stop aspirin and for how long.
- If surgery must proceed with aspirin in the system, plan for enhanced bleeding precautions (trauma-free technique, meticulous hemostasis, local measures, and possibly delaying resumption until hemostasis is secured). The timing to resume aspirin after surgery varies, typically 24–48 hours for minor procedures and longer for major ones, but this should be guided by the surgical team.
- For urgent/emergent cases, proceed with surgery and manage bleeding; do not delay life-saving surgery solely to stop aspirin.

If you can share the specific procedure (type of surgery) and the aspirin dose and how long it’s been since the patient last took it, I can give more tailored general guidance. However, this does not replace advice from the treating clinicians.