Revision Rhinoplasty: Q&A

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Is Nine Hours Under General Anesthesia Too Long?

I am considering revision rhinoplasty and a facelift. The surgeon is a board certified facial plastic surgeon with excellent reputation. I am concerned about the length of the surgery. This will be done in a hospital. I am healthy, a non-smoker, and 46 years old.

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15 Doctor Answers | Asked by philsfan in PA

Doctor Answers (15)
Community Comments (0)

Lengthy Surgery

Nine hours is a long time, but we do it all the time for total makeovers. However, if you do have anesthesia for this long, certain precautions must be taken. You should be put to sleep only by a board certified anesthesiologist and you should plan to spend the night in the hospital. You should also have a clearance from your family doctor to make sure you are as healthy as you think. Additionally, you should make sure that the OR staff does everything to make sure you have no problems, such... more

Facelift and rhinoplasty together can be lengthy.

Thank you for your question. Having a surgery that long at a hospital is good. Yes, surgery like this can take that long. If you are worried, you can have the surgeries done separately. You can also ask to be observed in the hospital overnight to make sure that you recover as planned without any surprises. Discuss these possibilites with your surgeon. I hope this helps.

9 Hours too long?

I personally limit my preoperative estimate to 5-6 hours. If more time is required, I break the procedures up into seperate sessions staged at a reasonable time apart. Many of the most serious complications have resulted from procedures that took more than six hours. Though length of time may vary from one surgeon to the next, I would have questions about a procedure taking much longer than average.

Nine Hours Under General Anessthesia

I am not concerned about 9 hours of general anesthesia when administered by an experienced specialist, but I don't understand why these procedures will take so long unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Richard W. Fleming, MD

9 reviews

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

9 hours?

I would be concerned about the surgeons skills. A face lift should take 2 to 3 hours and a revision nose no more than 2. Nine hours for elective cosmetic surgery is way too long.

Surgery duration and safety

This a difficult question. I agree with most of the back and forth arguments in this forum. My only concern here is what if the surgery lasted 10 or 12 hours. Are you still going to be safe. Can he/ she guarantee the surgery will finish in 9 hours.

9 hours of anesthesia for nose and face lift

A nose revision and full facelift takes 5possibly 6 hours normally. It is safe to have 9 hours of anesthesia but that is way too long.

Toby Mayer, MD

7 reviews

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Is Nine Hours Under General Anesthesia Too Long?

In my opinion 9 hours under general anesthesia isway too long. There are good statisitcs that show postoperative complication rates start to rise after 5 hours. It just is not worth taking ANY extra risk for cosmetic surgery. Not to mention the fatigue factor for the surgeon. And that amount of time seems very excessive for the surgery you are having done. You might want to get several consults before settling on a surgeon, that is always a good idea. And separate the nasal surgery from the... more

Revision rhinoplasty and facelift

Nine hours is a long time to be under general anesthesia for cosmetic surgery. You are young for a facelift so I would wonder what the surgeon proposes which would result in so long a procedure. Whenever the anesthesia time exceeds 5.5-6 hours, there is a documented increase in complications no matter how skilled the surgeon and anesthesiologist. I agree that, as a surgeon, you simply get tired past a certain point and it is important to recognize one's own limits and to create an... more

9 hours under general anesthesia is not reasonable.

Few would argue that your cosmetic surgery should not be life threatening. Generally anesthesia is associated with a finite risk of death. What is this risk? It depends on one's overall state of health and the relative risk of the procedure being performed. For a facelift, the risk of dying from having a general anesthesia is approximately one in 50,000 depending on the study. Recognize that studies the provide these estimates are very imprecise.... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

8 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Nine Hours Under General Anesthesia

The Anesthesia time does seem excessive, and risks increase in conjunction with time under anesthesia. If the surgeon's safety record is good, then that will provide you some confidence. However, consult with 2 - 3 other surgeons to explore your options.

9 hours surgery

Dear philsfan, In my practice I limit surgeries to 6 hours. That is because , statisticaly , the complication rate increase significantly after 6 hours. Cosmetic surgery is purely elective and comlications should be reduced to a minimum. I would recommend to you to split the procedures into 2 separate times. You have to remember that doctors are humans too and after 6 hours they can get tired and less focused and the quality of work might not be the same... more

Length of anesthesia

Some excellent surgeons are slow (they would say 'meticulous'). The length of surgery for an ASA Class I patient like you is not a major issue since body cavities will not be entered and the risks remain low. You should always have two or three consultations, however, before deciding to spend this kind of time with any surgeon!

9 Hours of General Anasthesia for a Facelift and Rhinoplasty

Hi, Wow... I think heart transplants take less time. The maximum time for this procedure in experienced hands should be no more than 4 to 5 hours. Remember your risk increases after 3 hours of general anasthesia. Consider having this done under local sedation your risk will be greatly reduced. Best, Dr.S.

Is 9 hours too long under anaesthesia

I can't imagine what is being done to last 9 hours. When i used to watch the show "extreme makeovers" I would cringe at all the procedures being done and the long anaesthesia times. A facelift takes an expert in my experience 2 to 5 hours maximum and I mean maximum. A revision perhaps 1 to 3 hours maximum. It seems he is very slow but his surgery may be good I'm sure. A body lift takes 6 hours. Anyway there is no contraindication to 9 hours by a good anaesthesiologist.