Will I Feel Pain During Alarplasty and Tip Plasty?

IV sedation will typically eliminate any recollection of pain. Further, the only painful part of rhinoplasty is the injection of the local anesthetic which typically only requires a couple of minutes. The actual procedure is usually pain free as the nose has already been numbed. It is not uncommon to perform rhinoplasty under IV sedation. I hope this information is helpful. 

            Local anesthesia with IV sedation will probably be comfortable, but I perform rhinoplasties under general anesthesia in all but the simplest of cases.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of rhinoplasties and rhinoplasty revisions each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.

Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

If you have both local anesthesia as well as IV sedation, you should be lightly asleep during your procedure.  You will not be conscious of any pain.  We use this combination in our practice for nearly every surgery we do, including almost all nose jobs.  The main advantage is comfort--our patients wake up quickly and naturally after surgery with very minimal grogginess, no nausea and no "hangover" many general anesthesia patients suffer.  Our M.D. anesthesiologist and I have been performing surgery side by side using IV sedation (also known as twilight sedation), for more than two decades.  We monitor our patients very closely to ensure their comfort and safety.

Please be sure to have a discussion with your plastic surgeon about his or her anesthesia protocol.  This is a facet of your procedure you should understand thoroughly.  Don't be afraid to ask all the questions you have.

Elliot Jacobs, M.D.

New York Plastic Surgeon