By: Charles Spenler, MD

My Long beach plastic surgery patients have plenty of options for their cosmetic surgery procedure, and in general the greater number of options means that I can customize procedures much more precisely to meet patients’ needs. However, many surgeons “oversell” new (or not so new) variations on different aspects of a surgical technique, leaving patients feeling confused by what seems like an endless amount of different approaches.

Today, I want to highlight anesthesia, which is an important aspect of the surgical experience, but which many patients find confusing or even worrisome simply because they don’t understand their options.

Anesthesia Basics: Your Options

Factors like your body type, the kind of procedure you are receiving, and the extent of the treatment area will all help guide your Long Beach plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist as they choose an anesthesia approach for your procedure. The basic options available today include:

• Local anesthetic: Typically used for noninvasive procedures, local anesthetic numbs the area immediately around the treatment site. This anesthetic can be applied as an injection to the tissue or as a “block” injected into the thin layer of tissue around a bone or main nerve. Tumescent anesthetic solutions used in liposuction also fall into this category, although liposuction patients are typically receiving intravenous sedation at the same time. Local anesthetic tends to wear off quickly, without the wooziness or discomfort of full-scale IV sedation, but because locally anesthetized patients are typically awake, this approach is not practical for larger-scale plastic surgery procedures like Manhattan Beach breast enlargement.
• Intravenous anesthesia: Typically used for more invasive or complex procedures such as facial surgery and breast augmentation, IV sedation puts the patient into a sleep state without sensation for the duration of the procedure. This approach carries some risks because it temporarily adjusts some normal body processes, and following surgery there is a brief period of discomfort and/or disorientation. However, in the hands of an experienced surgeon and an MD anesthesiologist, these risks are minimal.
• Twilight sedation: This approach appears to offer the “best of both worlds” of anesthesia, providing a continuous stream of intravenous sedation so that the patient cannot feel the procedure, but allowing them to remain “awake” throughout surgery. The medication creates amnesia, so that the patient will not remember the procedure.

The Bottom Line: Trust Your Surgeon

While all of these options seem to offer specific benefits for plastic surgery patients, the reality is that each patient handles the anesthesia – and the surgical experience as a whole – differently. After years of performing cosmetic surgery procedures like breast enlargement for Manhattan Beach and Long Beach patients, I am well aware of which approaches do – and do not – tend to work for my patients. Keep in mind that your surgeon will be basing his or her recommendation for a specific approach on a thorough review of your health, as well as their own experience with anesthesia methods.

If you are uneasy or unclear about the type of anesthesia your surgeon uses, or are not clear on what you can expect immediately following surgery, ask. A good Long Beach plastic surgeon will want you to be as relaxed and confident as possible both before and after your procedure to ensure healthy healing as well as a positive experience.

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