Do I have to remove manicure gel nails before Breast Augmentation surgery?

The answer to this question used to always be that you absolutely had to get rid of anything and everything except your very own fingernails.  And the purpose behind this was so that the anesthesia machines could detect your oxygen saturation through your nail bed but the nail treatments impeded the machine's ability to do so.I can tell you from experience, if someone told my wife to remove her nail treatments  - she would not be happy.  Not a good thing.  So fortunately, the anesthesia machines are better at detecting "through" nail treatments and alternatively some measurements can be made on your earlobe which are rarely painted or covered with gel coatings!best of luck!

Hi and thanks for your question. No its not vital, as this is all to do with an oxygenation measuring probed attached normally to your fingertip. However it can be attached to your earlobe or a toe. 

Most likely, you should not have to remove the nails. Most surgeons will use a pulse oximeter to measure your oxygen levels during surgery. We used to tell patients that they needed to remove their nail polish in order to get accurate readings on the pulse oximeter. But I have tried my pulse ox machine on patients with several types of nail polish and it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. As always, you should ask your surgeon. He/she may have a different answer.