Awake during facelift and I felt everything; is this acceptable?

I am so sorry you had to experience such a traumatic experience. Let me first say that it is perfectly acceptable to perform a full lower facelift and necklift under local anesthesia with conscious sedation. It makes the process generally safer and cost effective. That said, there certainly is an "art" to doing it in this manner. Placing the anesthetic initially requires a few pinches to get started. The rest of anesthesia placement is technique. Some surgeon's are gifted at it, others not so much. Certainly it is not ideal to have you totally uncomfortable for this initial part, let alone the entire procedure. Versed and that class of medications can sometimes have different effects on different patients. Obviously you did not have amnesia. I would seek your PCP for some advice and perhaps some temporary sleeping medication to help you through the night. 

I am very sorry to hear about your experience. Its often a good idea to review all the medication you received during the procedure and if an anesthesiologist was involved. For my surgery, any surgery over 1 hour of if I am concerned, I have an anesthesiologist involved to ensure patients have no pain or negative experience with the surgery.James P Bonaparte 

This really should not of happened to you. Facelifts can be done with sedation and local but most patients fare better with the general anesthetic. If you were complaining of discomfort during the procedure the medication should have been increased.

First of all, I am very sorry that you had a bad experience.  The reason I perform 100% of my facelifts under sedation is to avoid the scenario that you had to endure.  In my opinion, a several hour OR experience is beyond the capacity of most people.  The analogy I use is the "lounge chair by the pool".  How long is this comfortable for you? For most patients, one hour is plenty and most well performed facelifts far exceed one hour. Secondly, if you had this experience and you actually paid for anesthesia, you may want to discuss this again with your Surgeon.  Versed alone, which is very short acting, is an insufficient way to sedate most anxious patients. 

I'm sorry that this happened to you.  Usually if you feel pain, more local anesthetic is given.  I'm not making excuses for this doctor, but there are certain circumstances where patients might end up feeling more discomfort than they should.  If you were bleeding heavily, the effective local anesthesia time decreases.  If they were at the dosage limit for lidocaine, they might have not wanted to give much more.  If the actual surgical time took longer than expected, this would impact the local anesthesia.  Unfortunately, you would probably feel the initial local anesthetic injections, but would be lessened by versed.  I'm sorry that this happened to you and I dont know who did the surgery, but you might want to sit down with your doctor and discuss your feelings.

Dear Cinzia77Thank you for your question and I am very sorry that you have had this experience!  Unfortunately there are times where the medication does not prevent your memory of a procedure.  With a General anesthetic- this is very rare.  At this point - a consultation with your primary care giver is the best step in recovering from your experience.With Warm RegardsTrevor M Born MD

I am so sorry that you had such a horrible experience. While it is perfectly safe to do a face/neck lift under local anesthesia, it sounds as if your surgeon did not get it right. There is simply no excuse. Obviously, you need to speak with your surgeon about this. In the meantime, continue with therapy. It should definitely help with the panic attacks. Kindly,Kouros Azar

Thanks for the question.  I am sorry to hear about your experience.  I do about 75% of my facelifts under oral sedation and tumescent anesthesia (a numbing solution injected into the area of planned surgery).  It sounds like you were not adequately numbed for the procedure or the medications were not given ample time to take effect before beginning the procedure.  Either way this is not really acceptable.  Perhaps it is time to seek services with another board-certified plastic surgeon. 

Dear CINZIA77:Sorry you had this experience! This would be most unusual with today's medications and monitored anesthesia care!There are so many issues and concerns that are not made available in your post. My recommendations is to:Request a copy of your records including your operative note and anesthesia record.Arrange a second opinion by a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who performs cosmetic facial surgery routinelyArrange a consultation with a psychologist to review your concernsCertainly, anesthesia affects each patient uniquely and I feel terrible for your experience. Beyond this, your description of the Dr. and surgical team are worrisome. Maybe your Primary Care Physician can be of help.I hope this is helpful and I wish you well.

First, I am very sorry you had an unpleasant experience. 

One of the most common questions asked by patients during a facelift or neck lift consultation is whether they will have to undergo a general anesthetic for the procedure.  The answer is often no.





Most lower face and neck lifts are performed using IV sedation, often termed twilight or conscious sedation.  Here, the level of sedation is much less than a general anesthesia; however, you may remember sounds or have a sense of time; that is, you may have a sense of how long you have been undergoing the procedure.  However, most people do not remember much.  The incidence of nausea and feeling tired after the procedure are typically less with this form of anesthesia.





However, there are times when a general anesthetic may be in your best interest, and this is determined during your consultation.   Patients with chronic neck or back pain, medical health issues, and those having multiple procedures performed would be better served having a general anesthesia.   The accredited surgery center in our Aliso Viejo office has the capacity to do both types of anesthesia and also has an overnight suite nearby to aid in your recovery.  Incidentally, most eyelid surgeries and brow lifting procedures are performed using IV sedation.