Is an Epidural and IV sedation normal procedure for a Tummy Tuck and Brazilian Butt Lift?

We use very commonly the peridural anesthetic procedure and sedation because it is very safe procedure to perform long surgeries like BBL or TT or association of both, because mainly of postoperative pain control (for general anesthesia as soon you are awaken you are in pain and will be needing very strong painkillers which is very well known in the US) and also because we can use pain pumps for several days after surgery. Sedation will help you to eliminate anxiety and keep up sleeping through surgery. Regional anesthesia is not associated to blood clots. So feel confident that the anesthetic procedure will be effective and safe. Be encouraged. Dr. Cardenas 

It is not recommended to get a spinal anesthetic for a tummy tuck and liposuction!  Typically, body contour surgery is done with either IV sedation or general anesthetic. These are safe anesthesia treatments. The United States is one of the most regulated countries in the world in regard to standards of medical practice.  Please keep that in mind.Earl Stephenson, Jr, MD, DDS, FACS

Hello,Aside from the fact you are traveling for cosmetic surgery, which is always a bad idea when it comes to patient safety and proper follow up care, you are mistaken that epidural and IV sedation is somehow safer than general anesthesia in any regard, including deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE). Veno-thrombotic events (VTE) are fortunately rare, thanks to proper risk assessment and prophylactic measures utilized by accredited surgery centers that specialize in elective surgery.  However, what's most important in minimizing risk is proper patient selection; if you're at high risk for VTE's, then you should not have any elective surgery, especially a combined abdominoplasty, liposuction and fat transfer, regardless of anesthesia technique.Beyond that, abdominoplasty is a surgery that requires muscle relaxation to allow proper muscle repair.  Unless your epidural is at the thoracic level (which it won't due to potential paralysis of breathing muscles), your abdominal muscle will not be relaxed, nor will you be anesthetic in the mid and upper abdomen, where you'll definitely need it.Depending on the study, abdominoplasties have a risk of seromas (pocket of fluid under the skin) between 5 % to 25%, that requires multiple office visits to drain and heal.  There are many entries on RealSelf.com of women with post operative problems looking for surgeons in the US after having plastic surgery abroad.I suggest you rethink your trip to Mexico and visit a few highly qualified surgeons certified by the ABPS who are also members of the ASAPS.Best of luck!

It is not unreasonable to use epidural anesthesia for the procedures mentioned, provided it is administered by a Board Certified Anesthesiologist and not just by the surgeon him/herself. Anti-embolic prophylaxis is certainly advisable. However, I agree with the other respondent in condemning medical tourism. The qualifications of doctors, the accreditation of facilities and the capacity to take care of complications are all difficult to assess at a distance. Living in LA, I have frequently had to treat individuals with severe complications following medical tourism abroad. It can be very costly if hospital admission is required and many plastic surgeons will refuse to see you. Furthermore, your ability to sue the doctor for malpractice is greatly diminished.

Having done a large number of tummy tucks and Brazilian buttocks lifts using fat grafting, I would recommend that you do this procedure with general anesthesia simply because the overall control of the airway is significantly better. We do all of our abdominoplasties and Brazilian buttock lifts with general anesthesia. We have excellent board certified M.D. anesthesiologists and our patients are fully monitored during this procedure. Any procedure of this magnitude that does not have full monitoring and satisfactory airway control is less than satisfactory.