I am truly perplexed. 52yr, healthy, non-smoker, but NO plastic surgeons here will consider a facelift procedure without GA considering anything else unsafe while in US and Europe it is the norm. The scientific literature supports the increased safety of LA and better recovery. Im curious as to the driver of this decision as all surgeons have got patient safety as the core concern, yet so polar opposite views. Thanks.
September 5, 2024
Answer: Deep-plane Facelift with IV sedation vs general anesthesia or just local anesthetic I typically perform the deep-plane facelift with IV sedation and not with general anesthesia or just local anesthetic. Patients are much more comfortable this way both during and after surgery.
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September 5, 2024
Answer: Deep-plane Facelift with IV sedation vs general anesthesia or just local anesthetic I typically perform the deep-plane facelift with IV sedation and not with general anesthesia or just local anesthetic. Patients are much more comfortable this way both during and after surgery.
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September 5, 2024
Answer: Hogwash I've watched many a colleague perform facial rejuvenation surgery with an anesthesiologist who doesn't use a dedicated airway (endotracheal tube or laryngeal mask), and only administers intravenous medications. This is the most common scenario that a marketing savvy surgeon and the lay public would call 'sedation' anesthesia. However, I can assure you that it is not. It is general anesthesia. What you and the public don't understand is that these names for anesthesia actually are tied to levels of consciousness, not whether someone was intubated or not. In the case of true sedation, a patient can react to auditory stimuli, like calling out their name, and certainly to painful stimuli in an area that has not also gotten local anesthetic. As I mentioned already, this not the case for patients having facelifts; they are not responsive to painful stimuli and will not respond to loud auditory commands, so they are under general anesthesia regardless of how it appears. Further, there is NO STUDY showing that 'sedation' anesthesia is safer than general anesthesia, and in fact the opposite has been shown: sedation has a bad track record for deaths. Do you remember the famous comedian Joan Rivers? Finally, you are incorrect about the US. Facelifts performed by board certified plastic and facial plastic surgeons are done using general anesthesia. It's safe and just as quick to recover from as 'sedation' anesthesia.
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September 5, 2024
Answer: Hogwash I've watched many a colleague perform facial rejuvenation surgery with an anesthesiologist who doesn't use a dedicated airway (endotracheal tube or laryngeal mask), and only administers intravenous medications. This is the most common scenario that a marketing savvy surgeon and the lay public would call 'sedation' anesthesia. However, I can assure you that it is not. It is general anesthesia. What you and the public don't understand is that these names for anesthesia actually are tied to levels of consciousness, not whether someone was intubated or not. In the case of true sedation, a patient can react to auditory stimuli, like calling out their name, and certainly to painful stimuli in an area that has not also gotten local anesthetic. As I mentioned already, this not the case for patients having facelifts; they are not responsive to painful stimuli and will not respond to loud auditory commands, so they are under general anesthesia regardless of how it appears. Further, there is NO STUDY showing that 'sedation' anesthesia is safer than general anesthesia, and in fact the opposite has been shown: sedation has a bad track record for deaths. Do you remember the famous comedian Joan Rivers? Finally, you are incorrect about the US. Facelifts performed by board certified plastic and facial plastic surgeons are done using general anesthesia. It's safe and just as quick to recover from as 'sedation' anesthesia.
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