IV Sedation and Local Anesthesia Safe Option for Facelift?

I always offer my patients either General Anesthesia or Monitored Anesthesia Care, both with Board Certified Anesthesiology providers, as options for their facelifts. If they do not express a preference, I prefer MAC as the absence of an endotracheal tube certainly expedites the necklift portion. In my practice, I am fortunate to work with exceptionally talented anesthesiologists who "dose" the IV sedation using the usual noninvasive monitors, (blood pressure, electrocardiogram,... more

Respiratory depression and respiratory arrest can occur when patients are partially awake and partially asleep. It is actually safer to be asleep under general anesthesia with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist than it is to be half asleep and half awake. Patient awareness and consciousness of what is going on is a very real issue, so the safest option is to be put to sleep under general anesthetic.

We do all of our regular facelifts under general anesthesia combined with local. In that way the depth of anesthesia needs to be much less. We also like to be able to control the airway. For mini lifts in some patients, I will do them strictly under local after they have taken oral valium. If I use IV anesthesia I ALWAYS have it done by an anesthetist since I only want to focus on my job, not two.

Virtually all my facelifts for the past 15 years have been done with i.v. sedation and local anesthesia. There are major advantages: Safer throught the procedure very nfrequent nausea afterward You have the local anesthesia in your tissues so that when the operation is complete there is less pain No distortion of the face from the tubes or masks needed for general anesthesia

Hello Jaqui, Your question is a very good one and one that I discuss with my patients every day. General anesthesia, IV sedation and local anesthesia all have their advantages and disadvantages. They are all options worth considering and ultimately the the method used is arrived at by weighing all the important factors in play : safety first, the type of facelift being done, the Patient's medical health and history, the Surgeon's comfort level, the Patient's comfort level, the number and... more

There are several good options for anesthesia during a facelift depending on what a patient desires.   Local anesthesia with a minimal sedation (mostly awake) can be a good option for some patients who want to avoid general anesthesia.  Seek consultation with a surgeon who can perform this. IV sedation is another good option.  Here an experienced anesthesiologist is very important. General anesthesia is also a good option, in particular for patients who... more

IV sedation can be used quite successfully in patients undergoing surgical facial rejuvenation procedures. We use a combination of propofol, ketamine and versed along with a BIS monitor that allows my anesthetist to give the patient just enough anesthesia that they require without giving too much. Deep IV sedation requires a well trained and experienced anesthetist who is skilled with the technique. It is more work for the anesthesia provider, but can result in a quicker recovery from... more

In our experience, I.V. sedation is a fine anesthesia option for facial aesthetic surgery. Personally, I avoid general anesthesia for facelift surgery. Waking up and restlessness can be avoided when the anesthesia service is provided by an experienced anesthesiologist. At the end, listen to your intuition.

Dear Jacqui It is certainly possible to perform a facelift under IV sedation. It is also possible to perform a facelift under just local anesthetic. The choice of anesthetic usually is determined by what the surgeon and anesthesiologist are comfortable with rather than any scientifically mandated requirement. Surgeons often prefer general anesthesia because it eliminates subjective concerns of the patient. The surgeon is free to do whatever they need to during surgery because patient... more