Scared of Going Under General Anesthesia for 5 1/2 for Mommy Makeover???

Your concern is a common one; many people are more afraid of the anesthesia than the surgery! If your procedure is going to be done in an accredited surgical facility, then general anesthesia will be safe  and a good choice for the length of the operation. Accreditation means that everything is in place to deal with any emergency that could occur. By far the riskest thing about your surgery day will be the drive to the facility.

The Mommy Makeover is a combination of procedures to bring a woman’s body back to the way she looked prior to pregnancy. Most commonly some variation of a #TummyTuck and #BreastSurgery are performed. Additional procedures can include liposuction, umbilical hernia repair.  The most common #breastprocedures include #mastopexy or #breastlift, #breastaugmentation, or #breastreduction.    

#Combining these procedures decreases anesthetics, costs, and recovery time.  All surgical procedures carry some degree of #risk. Always discuss your issues and concerns with the Plastic Surgeon during and following your consultation. Information that you read online may not apply to your personal situation.It is imperative you select a plastic surgeon who is #board-certified and has a great deal of experience with the procedures included with a Mommy Makeover. . Aside from checking board-certification, it is suggested that you look at before and after photos of the surgeons actual patients, and read patient reviews. Gathering all of this information will help you make a well-informed decision.

If you've had your lab work done and consulted with your surgeon and anesthetist who have both cleared you for the surgery, then general anesthesia is very safe. I haven't had any problems dealing with patients under GA. It is important, however, that you follow your surgeon's pre and post op instructions to prepare your body for the surgery. Make sure to not eat or drink anything in the recommended timeframe before your surgery, and to follow all instructions. Your surgeon will hopefully be taking all precautions to minimize risk during that period of time.

Anxiety regarding anesthesia is an extremely common phenomena. In our experience people are often more concerned about anesthesia than their actual surgical procedure. The science of anesthesia has made significant advances in the past twenty years. In the past inhalation agents were often associated with slow recoveries and significant post-operative nausea. Current anesthetic agents are associated with quicker recoveries and less post-operative nausea.

When patients are in good health and have no major risk factors, a five hour anesthesia is not unusual and is relatively safe. It’s important to realize that the mommy makeover is an extensive procedure that combines cosmetic breast surgery, liposuction and abdominoplasty. By its very nature, the mommy makeover will require a longer period of anesthesia.

If you’re strongly considering a mommy makeover procedure then everything should be done pre-operatively to remove your anxiety. This starts with a comprehensive pre-operative medical evaluation to ensure that you’re in good health and a good surgical risk.

People fear the unknown, so make sure your well educated on this topic. Make sure you spend time with your surgeon and anesthesiologist and get your questions answered. This will do more than anything else to alleviate your anxiety.

If you are young and healthy, you should be able to tolerate general anesthesia for 5 hours for surgery.  You should first obtain medical clearance from your primary care physician, which would require possibly an EKG and lab work. If you are concerned about the recovery, you can have the procedure performed in a hospital or stay overnight in an aftercare facility.

In general, the longer the surgery, the more likely you are to develop blood clots in your legs. The chance is still quite low, about 1-2%.

If you have any concerns you need to discuss this in detail with your surgeon prior to surgery and possibly separate the procedures on two different days.

Best wishes,

Dr.Bruno

As long as your in a qualified setting (eg hospital with board certified anesthesiologists) your risks of anything going wrong are low.

Typically about 6 hours of combination plastic surgery procedures are performed without any problem.   Longer than that can be controversial but it also is performed uneventfully for medically necessary procedures without any problem every day.  Problems can happen and its normal to be nervous but the vast majority of these happen every day without any single incident. 

If the abdomen and breasts are to be dealth with in a slight person (115lbs.), I would suggest that your surgeon is very deliberate in execution of the operations.  If liposuction is part of the repair, you wouldn't need much of it, seems to me.  Nevertheless, if it takes 5 and a half hours to get the best result, that lengh of surgery is safe.

OF course no surgery is without risk but you are generally considered and excellent candidate from your limited description and should have a very low incidence of complications. Theoretically, if you remain excessively worried, you might be able to lower the risks by separating the surgical procedures.

In a modern surgical facility anesthesia has become a very safe procedure even for extended periods of time. The current drugs used have very short durations of action and are easily controlled. Current monitoring ability far exceeds what was available even twenty years ago. If you are healthy you should not have anything to worry about but there are still inherent risks in any surgical procedure. These proocedure combinations have become fairly routine across the country and done by well trained surgeons they are very safe.

Mommy makeovers usually take between 4-6 hours. As long as you are healthy and have medical clearance you should be okay. Good luck.