Facelift Scheduled in March. Is It Normal to Have Alot of Anxiety?I Have a Great Doctor....but the General Anesthesia Scares Me!

Anesthesia techniques are very safe in patients without active, symptomatic cardiovascular or coagulation issues.  I have performed a lot of Facelifts in my practice over the last 11 years and I have never seen a patient who wasn't anxious.  You are supposed to be anxious, but this can be overcome with anxiolytic medications (valium or ativan) in the week or two prior to your procedure.  There has been a lot of infomercial advertising describing "potentially dangerous anesthetics".  The key word is "potentially".  If you aren't a candidate for a Facelift under IV or General Anesthesia for health reasons, I certainly wouldn't recommend a Facelift under local anesthesia as a safer alternative; patients in poor health aren't candidates for elective procedures period.

Anxiety is normal before having a cosmetic surgery procedure. It seems like you like and trust the doctor who will perform you facelift surgery (which is GOOD), but are nervous about general anesthesia after doing research and understanding the risks of general anesthesia. At my practice in New York, I prefer to perform facelift surgery under local anesthesia with light IV sedation. Leading anesthesiologists like Barry Friedberg, M.D. share our professional opinion that most, if not all cosmetic surgery procedures, can be performed safely under local anesthesia with IV or intravenous sedation. Despite this fact, a large percentage of people undergoing cosmetic surgery are subjected to the risks of general anesthesia. General anesthesia requires less prep time and more procedures can be performed in a day. However, the longer someone is under general anesthesia, the more stress it puts on the heart and lungs. With local anesthesia, the preparation time is longer and fewer patients can be accommodated in a day. But, the bottom line is that a patient’s safety should always come first – far more important than the financial bottom line. Not only do I find local anesthesia to be safer, it also eases puts the body under less stress thus eases recovery. Discuss with your surgeon the possibility of local anesthesia.

 

it is normal to be nervous before a facelift or any surgery for that matter. general anesthesia scars many people but it shouldn't. I have always heard the anesthesiologists say that statistically the ride to the surgery center the day of the surgery is more dangerous than undergoing anesthesia (for a healthy patient). Eat a well-balanced diet and get plenty of exercise. That will help. You will get through it. Also, your surgeon might not have discussed this with you, but it is worth mentioning that some patients feel a little down for a month or two after a facelift. It is normal and if it happens be open with your doctor about it. I have never seen it be severe and patients always get through it. But it is a rarely discussed phenomenon that is worth knowing about in advance.