Local anesthesia for breast implant surgery? (Photo)

Hello,Assuming you find a surgeon willing to do 'all local' anesthesia, what happens if he is in the middle of surgery and you feel pain, and more local anesthesia is not making it better?  Abort the procedure or get sedation?  Well, if you choose sedation, you should know that you are at higher risk of aspiration or insufficient ventilation than with a well monitored general anesthesia.  And you will also be 'out of control' because you'll essentially be unconscious. As for faster recovery, that's completely untrue, and you are more likely instead to have more pain and a longer recovery.  Being awake prevents the surgeon from enjoying the ease of operating while your muscles are relaxed, making his job harder, and making excessive injury to your tissues more likely. Play it safe. Get general anesthesia by a board certified anesthesiologist.  It's safer than driving to the surgery center.Best of luck!

More and more I have been using local anesthesia with very mild sedation to perform breast augmentation IF the implants are placed on top of the muscle which I do about 10% of the time. This allows the patient to be aware of what is going on, to participate in implant size selection, allows for a fast and easy recovery and much reduced overall costs. But, if the implants are placed under the muscle I always use general anesthesia. I hope this information helps!Thomas Taylor, MD, FACSPasadena, CA

Breast implants should only be performed under general anesthesia with a Board certified anesthesiologist. Placing an implant under the muscle requires precision control for your safety. Bleeding under local anesthesia can be difficult to control. Not recommended 

Local alone is not a great idea as there is just too much discomfort and vivid recall of all of the injections.  Add sedation and you can do this but you always have accept the possibility of being converted to a general if there are any issues with your airway.  Recovery is not any 'faster' when done under local as quite a bit of sedation is used in most cases.  But if you're accepting of sedation, you can easily find surgeons in your area that can accommodate your desires.

I was trained in performing breast augmentation under local anesthesia during my residency.  It is something I don't get asked to do often but it is something I feel comfortable doing.  I would prefer to do it with an anesthesiologist present "just in case" but I'm happy to discuss the procedure with youDSR

I personally do not recommend local anesthesia only for breast augmentation for the same reasons listed below by my colleagues. However,  there are many ways to perform surgery. PLease choose a board certified plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist that is comfortable with what you are suggesting if you decide to proceed.

In my service we usually use epidural anesthesia, it is safer then general anesthesia when done by certified anesthesiologists, It has been described for even thoracic surgery, it is combined with IV sedation and some local long lasting  anesthesia so you can have a pleasent immediate recovery, this way we can work in every pocket level.I hope this gives you another option

If the photo is that of you, I would not do breast augmentation on you - period!However, I do augmentation with oral Valium for sedation and I agree, the recovery is faster for the first few days.Malcolm Lesavoy, MD

Breast augmentation surgery is a major procedure and not to be taken lightly.  This surgery should be performed under general anesthesia by a qualified plastic surgeon.   The anesthesia should be performed by an anesthesiologist or qualified nurse anesthetist.  This is the safest way to perform this surgery.  This is an elective procedure and you would want the best possible outcome.  I would not put your safety in jeopardy by risking such a surgery under local anesthesia.   

Thank you for the question.Every surgeon will have his/her preference. I prefer the use of general anesthesia provided by a board-certified anesthesiologist. I have found that the use of general anesthesia is safe, comfortable for the patient, and predictably maintains a patient in a good position (without movement) during the procedure. I think the latter is important as we are trying to achieve as much symmetry is possible.I hope this, and the attached link, helps. Best wishes.