6 months ago
Lana in NoCal:
In my practice I have used a variety of methods for carefully selected patients, from local only (rare), to mild sedation plus local, to light general anesthesia. In my current situation we use general anesthesia for most patients (bear in mind that many patients are having combined procedures, such as facelift, etc.).
It is certainly reasonable to expect to be completely comfortable with sedation and local anesthesia. Each surgeon and anesthesia provider (nurse anesthetist or MD anesthesiologist) may use different techniques and you should question them, express your concerns, etc prior to surgery.
