What's the best way to find a great plastic surgeon who can do a lift without general anesthesia?

Thank you for your question. I prefer to perform my surgeries under general anesthesia but in selected patients, a breast lift can be done with a local anesthetic. You can find a plastic surgeon who specializes in these kinds of surgeries in your area. Good luck with your search.

Hello, Thank you for your question. So this can be possible with some light sedation and the issue lies in the amount of local anesthetic we can inject into the area of the surgery. Since we are limited by how much we can inject, it perhaps may not be a completely painless procedure. Speak to your doctor about your concerns and your options.

A breast lift can be done safely and comfortably under local anesthesia with some IV sedation. You do not need general anesthesia. This saves you the postop nausea, vomiting, associated with general anesthesia. It depends on your health status as well.

I wouldn't advise a breast lift under local anesthesia. I do perform many surgeries under local and avoid general when I can. In the case of a breast lift, I always perform under general anesthesia and it takes 1.5-2 hrs of work in the OR.

Unfortunately you will really limit your choice of surgeon by insisting on local anesthesia. If you came to me and would only do it under local, I would refuse to operate. Surgeons get into more trouble with local anesthesia and sedation than with general anesthesia

Dear MastCellBeauty,
finding the right Dr. is extremely challenging especially with the number of online platforms and resources available. There a lot of great Dr's available. Make sure he/she is a board-certified plastic surgeon. Definitely check to make sure your choice specializes in the procedure you want and spend the time to read through patient testimonials. There is a number of different sites where you can check for reviews (Realself, yelp, google, etc.).You can always pick up the phone and call around also, find an office you feel comfortable with and set up a few consultations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The lift will best be done under general anesthesia. Trying to do a lift under local will require a fair amount of numbing medication which will stretch the tissue and may not give as tight of a lift as wanted. If only a small lift is needed, then it can be done under local. If there is a lot of breast tissue to move and skin to remove, it is best under general anesthesia so you will have the best results.

This procedure is typically performed under general anesthesia for the patient's comfort and safety, as well as to optimize results. There is a limit to how much local anesthesia a patient can be given. I recommend speaking to a board certified plastic surgeon near you about your concerns with general anesthesia before excluding it completely.

The best way is to ask highly rated doctors offices near you. It may depend a bit by what you need. We will do a couple of circumvertical mastopexies per month in the office. They are relatively easy to tolerate with oral medicines and Pro-Nox (Nitrous gas). It is very safe to do in the office.

Many plastic surgery procedures can be done safely under local anesthesia. One of the factors that determines whether a procedure can be done under local anesthesia is the amount of local anesthetic required as local anesthetic is toxic over a maximal dose.

With respect to breast lift surgery, only a very minor breast lift can be done under local anesthesia alone.
The addition of sedation or general anesthesia is necessary to allow an effective breast lift to be performed.

All the best to you,
Dr. Nancy de Kleer