Breast reduction; what is the likely hood of someone either, waking up during surgery or not waking up at all after its done?

I do breast reduction surgery under general anesthesia. It is an exceedingly safe anesthesia that last about 2.5 hours. The operation is done on an outpatient basis, meaning that a patient goes home on the same day. 

Your concerns and questions are very common and totally in line with fears that one might have for any surgical procedure. Although, the mathematical possibility of death exists during any operation, the likelihood is extremely rare. In an age of modern anesthesia care, state of the art equipment, we consider all plastic surgical operations safe and continue to hold safety as one of our key concerns and features. As to "waking up" during surgery...I must tell you that is a myth of sorts. A recent movie has erroneously highlighted that possibility. However, with our extraordinary monitoring equipment and board certified anesthesiologist, I have personally not seen that in more than 20,000 cases that I have been involved in. Odds are that I will never see it. So, ask these great questions and do your homework. You will be fine. Best of luck.

Thank you for your question. It is often amazing to me that patients are so scared of the anesthesia when driving your car to surgery on the morning of surgery is more risky to your health than the anesthesia itself. Perhaps I can provide some data to help easy your mind.....One study looked at all anesthesia related deaths from 1995-2005, and there were 2,211 deaths in the United States during that time period. While that may sound high, you have to keep in mind the massive number of procedures that are performed every day in this country. When taking that into account, the rate of a death is about 1.1 per million population per year (1.45 for males and 0.77 for females). And that is taking into account all comers, with much higher mortality being attributed to elderly patients and patients with multiple medical co-morbidities, or those requiring emergency surgery. For someone like you, presuming you are healthy at 33 and have no significant medical problems, your risk is not even the one in a million, it is much lower than that. I hope this helps.Good luck!

Your concerns are valid and commonly asked. The fact is, that the chance of death with anesthesia or "waking up" during the procedure is extremely UNCOMMON. I was told by a board certified anesthesiologist once that the chance of death or waking up during surgery are less than you crossing the street ( not a busy one) and getting hit by a car. It is not common at all. Having said that, it important that you see a board certified plastic surgeon who works with board certified anesthesiologists who perform the procedures in a hospital or an accredited surgical center. Your plastic surgeon should be able to answer all of your questions relative to the operation and put you at ease. Breast reduction surgery is certainly one of the operations that plastic surgeons perform that have the highest patient satisfaction. Typically, patients go home the same day, so you will not have to spend a night in the hospital.Best wishes,Dr. Ravi Somayazula

Your concerns about undergoing surgery/anesthesia are understandable and very common.  Assuming you have chosen your plastic surgeon carefully and he/she works with well experienced anesthesia providers in a fully accredited surgery center the chances of you having a anesthesia related complication are very small. Of course, your past medical and surgical history should be carefully evaluated as well. Based on your question and the ( almost palpable) anxiety, I think that you will be best off spending a lot of time with your plastic surgeon discussing your specific concerns. You should be aware that, generally speaking, patients who are relatively calm prior to surgery tend to do well afterwards as well.Also, as you go through this process, it may be helpful to you to remember that breast reduction surgery tends to be one of the most patient pleasing operations we perform. I hope this, and the attached link, helps. Best wishes.

Thank you for the question and this is a valid concern given that you have never had surgery.  It is similar to the fear that many people have before their first flight on an airplane or getting into a car.  That said you are probably safer having breast reduction surgery then getting in your car or going on an airplane.Dr. Corbin

If you are in good health, the chance of something going terribly wrong with anesthesia is a lot less than something going terribly wrong next time you drive to the grocery store."Waking up" during surgery makes great fodder for the National Enquirer but it is in fact extremely rare and can only happen if you are also paralyzed for the surgery.  Breast reduction does not require that you be paralyzed so the chance of you regaining consciousness without first showing signs that your anesthetic is a little light is zero.Make sure you have a board certified plastic surgeon do your surgery and that he/she uses a fully certified anesthesiologist in a fully certified operating room. 

Pretty much zero. In the 30 years I have been performing breast reduction surgery with anesthesia performed by board-certified physician anesthesiologists, I have never had a patient wake up during surgery and never had a patient not wake up after surgery. Statistically, general anesthesia is probably safer than driving on the freeway.

Thank you for your question and expression of concerns regarding your upcoming breast reduction surgery and the safety of anesthesia. The statistics that I'm aware of are that fewer than one in 50,000 people don't survive anesthesia for elective plastic surgery. At your age and assuming that you are in excellent health and not taking any dangerous drugs the risks are probably even smaller. Similarly, many patients fear awakening under anesthesia but it is a very very rare occurrence.  I have not experienced it in 35 years of practice My suggestion would be once you have found a surgeon in whom you're confident, relax, look forward to the results and enjoy the outcome. Nearly all patients awaken from surgery amazed that it has been completed and tell me that if they'd known it was such an easy experience they would've had no cause for alarm or anxiety.Jon A Perlman, MD FACSCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryAssoc. Clin. Prof. of Plastic Surgery, UCLA Medical CenterBeverly Hills, Ca

You are not alone in your fears about anesthesia. This is something that many people are
worried about when it comes to surgery.
Often, not matter how many facts and figures we come up with about how
safe anesthesia is, it does not remove your fear and many people will just suffer
with their problem rather than have the surgery.



There are alternatives.
You could have your breast reduction with conscious sedation anesthesia,
meaning that you do not go to sleep at all.
We give you drugs to relax you and help get rid of any discomfort as
well as local anesthesia. This is a
common practice for when you get your wisdom teeth out. It is my preferred method of anesthesia for
all my surgery. The patients do so much
better and you go home right after the surgery.



I hope that helps.



Best regards.