Tranexamic Acid in Rhinoplasty: Perioperative Bleeding, Edema and Ecchymosis

May 5, 2026 updated by: Shiayin Yang, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
This study will be a prospective randomized study to evaluate the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) use on intraoperative and postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing rhinoplasty by two Facial Plastic surgeons at Vanderbilt. Outcomes will include intra- and post-operative bleeding and postoperative bruising and swelling.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

TXA is an antifibrinolytic agent that acts to decrease bleeding by stabilizing the fibrin matrix involved in the clotting cascade. The use of TXA, oral or intravenous, has been extensively used and described in the literature to prevent exsanguination in trauma and in various surgical procedures, as well as for heavy menstrual bleeding. It has been used in the perioperative period during various nasal and sinus surgery, and current research in rhinoplasty suggests that its use may decrease intraoperative bleeding and postoperative eye swelling and bruising.

Currently, IV TXA is used at this institution in some cases by some surgeons in the perioperative period in rhinoplasty surgery, though its used is not standardized and has not been studied. This study will randomize patients undergoing rhinoplasty, with consent, to receive TXA or placebo in the perioperative period. The investigators anticipate collecting 60-100 patients. Outcomes will include intraoperative bleeding, postoperative swelling and bruising (both subjective and based on blinded reviewer analysis of postoperative photographs).

TXA has been used in the perioperative period during various nasal and sinus surgery, and current research in rhinoplasty suggests that its use may decrease intraoperative bleeding and postoperative eye swelling and bruising. In these studies, TXA has been given in intravenous and/or oral form in 1-3 doses in the perioperative period, and there have been no serious adverse effects reported. IV TXA is also FDA approved for use at time of tooth extraction to decrease bleeding, and PO TXA is approved use during the menstrual cycle to decrease heavy menstrual bleeding. There are countless studies in the literature supporting use of both IV and PO TXA in trauma, orthopedic and spine surgery and neurosurgery, and it is widely used in clinical practice in these disciplines. It's use in rhinoplasty is growing, yet has not been studied in larger groups.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults at least 18 years of age who elect to undergo cosmetic or functional open primary rhinoplasty with osteotomies (repositioning the nasal bones) by Drs. Yang or Patel at VUMC.
  • No other facial plastics procedure nor sinus surgery performed simultaneously
  • Lack all the below Exclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known allergy to TXA (tranexamic acid)
  • Intracranial bleeding
  • Known defective color vision
  • History of venous or arterial thromboembolism
  • Active thromboembolic disease
  • Severe renal impairment (diagnosis of chronic kidney disease)
  • History of coagulation disorder
  • Known thrombocytopenia (platelets <150,000)
  • Current use of anticoagulant (blood thinner)
  • Uncontrolled DM (diabetes mellitus) preventing use of dexamethasone in the perioperative period
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • History of AMI (acute myocardial infarction), stroke, seizure, liver failure
  • Laboratory results showing platelets <150,000, PT (prothrombin time) >45, INR (international normalized ratio) >1.2, seizure disorder

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Tranexamic Acid
Patients receive 1 gram IV tranexamic acid in the operating room prior to surgical incision.
Drug: Tranexamic acid
1 gram IV (intravenous) tranexamic acid administered in the operating room just prior to starting the case (10 minutes), at time that routine preoperative antibiotic is given.
Other Names:
  • TXA
No Intervention: Control
Routine care, no tranexamic acid given.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intraoperative bleeding as measured by the weight of surgical sponges used
Time Frame: During surgery
Weight of surgical sponges used (grams)
During surgery
Intraoperative bleeding as measured by the volume of blood in suction canister
Time Frame: Intraoperative
Volume of blood in suction canister (Milliliters)
Intraoperative
Postoperative bleeding as measured by patient-rated bleeding on Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: Up to one week following surgery.
A single patient-answered question visual analog scale (VAS) used to measure the amount of post-operative bleeding from the nose the participant experienced (1 to 5 scale with 5 being the most)
Up to one week following surgery.
Postoperative edema
Time Frame: Up to one week following surgery
Swelling around the eyes (Visual Analog Scale, 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the most)
Up to one week following surgery
Postoperative ecchymosis
Time Frame: Up to one week following surgery
Bruising around the eyes (Visual Analog Scale, 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the most)
Up to one week following surgery
Postoperative bleeding as measured by the number of medical interventions needed to control bleeding
Time Frame: Up to one week following surgery
Number of interventions required to control bleeding (surgical or procedural interventions)
Up to one week following surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Shiayin F Yang, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Study Director: Jaclyn S Lee, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Study Director: Alexander J Barna, MPH, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 12, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 15, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 20, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 221035

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No plan at this time to share.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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