Normal wake up time post op?

You post a good question. Speak with your surgeon about your anesthesia options as you have several.  One unique type of anesthesia I use is local anesthesia with oral sedation (Valium) in an accredited surgery center. I have safely performed thousands of facelifts and neck lifts also combined with eyelid lifts or other facial procedures. When done properly patients are comfotable and sleepy but  arousable.  (If your surgery exceeds 3-3.5hrs you may want deeper anesthesia) Under local, I find the wake up is very easy and patients are safely discharged home within the hour. Moreover, the week recovery is easier as there is no long anesthesia hangover effect. Patients feel like themselves rather quickly. An an additional side benefit with local anesthesia and oral sedation is that the cost to the patient is lower but this should not be the driving force of your decision. Surgeon's skills and experience as well as patient's experience and results are the most important.  Face lifting brings patients a lot of satisfaction. Please consult with several experienced board certified surgeons. 

If you are concerned about the length of time it took you to recover from anesthesia after your last two surgeries, you can request the anesthesia records from those surgeries, and bring them with you when you have your facelift consultation.  Your question does serve to reinforce a very important point: the anesthetic care provided during a surgical procedure is every bit as important as the surgery itself, and, in a very real sense, often more important.  In our practice, when a patient has specific questions about anesthesia related issues, it is not uncommon for us to schedule a second consultation with the anesthesiologist who will be providing anesthesia during her surgical procedure. Bringing copies of your intraoperative and postoperative anesthesia records will allow the anesthesiologist to answer your questions more directly, and develop an anesthesia plan for your surgery that may avoid some of the problems that you have experienced in the past.

There many different combinations of medications are used for general anesthesia. A good anesthesiologist will be able to adjust the type of anesthesia if any previous experience was unsatisfactory.

Two hours is a long time to recover after anesthesia. For your next procedure, you might consider surgery under local anesthesia. Discuss this option with your surgeon.

There are many factors that affect the wakeup time from anesthesia. These include many different medications that are given during the anesthesia, such as narcotics. There are also multiple different anesthetics available on the market both inhalational and intravenous. It is best to obtain a copy of your anesthesia report from your previous 2 surgeries and give that to the next  board-certified anesthesiologist when you want to perform a facelift.

Thanks for your question. There are all kinds of anesthesia protocols these days. All of them are a tradeoff between keeping you comfortable and limiting the amounts of drugs used. I would try to figure out what drugs were used during your most recent procedure so you can share that with your anesthesiologist next time around.In my practice, we frequently don't need to put patients totally asleep. We can use drugs to achieve a "twilight sleep" effect. Combined with using a lot of numbing medicine, this works out very well for our patients. Talk to your docs and see what they can do. Good luck!

There is a fairly significant difference between general anesthesia and total intravenous (IV) anesthesia. I presume that your thyroidectomy was performed under general anesthesia. Breast augmentations and lifts are also usually performed under general anesthesia. Patients on average will take longer to recover from general anesthesia versus IV anesthesia. Some patients take even longer due to their genetics. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are at an increased risk for complications from anesthesia.However, if it is a concern for you, many surgeons perform facelift and necklift under IV anesthesia. The postop recovery period is shorter on average compared to general anesthesia. Many surgeons feel that there is less intraoperative bleeding as well. It may still take you a bit longer to wake up than the average patient, but the important point is that you do eventually wake up. Make your concerns known when you see your surgeon, find out what the options are for anesthesia, and make your prior experiences known to your anesthesiologist when you meet him/her.Best wishes!  Harry V. Wright MD

The wake up depends on what anesthetic is used, patient medication tolerance and length of surgery.  Discuss with the anesthesiologist that will be doing the procedure with your surgeon and he/she will be better able to answer your concerns.  Donald R. Nunn MD  Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Dear Baby58, There are multiple types of anesthesia medications and you should consult with your anesthesiologist prior to another surgery. If you are going to another surgeon I would ask for a copy of your anesthesia record from both of your previous procedures so that the new anesthesiologist may fully evaluate what medications you may be sensitive to. In my private accredited surgical facility my anesthesiologist specifically uses short acting medications, once the infusions are discontinued the patients wake up between five to ten minutes after surgery. These medications are extremely expensive and many surgery centers and especially hospitals use gas and/or longer acting medications due to cost effectiveness. Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.

Request an anesthesia consult prior to your surgery.  This will enable the anesthesia group to review your medical history and adjust your medications.