Is There a Safe/legal Time Limit for General Anesthesia in an Accredited Outpatient Setting?

Most plastic surgeons like to keep total procedure time under 6 hrs.  I like to keep the total time under 4 hours.  Even when I liposuction 5 liters from multiple areas of the body and transfer 1500 cc per buttock for the Brazilian buttlift, the total surgery time is about 2 hrs.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of liposuction procedures each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Most sources generally consider 6 hours as the upper safe limit for outpatient surgery, whether it is performed in a hospital or surgery center. After 6 hours,the rate of  post-operative complication rises. The patient's overall health and which procedure(s) is to be performed should also be major considerations. Larger body contouring procedures may result in more blood loss.  Large volume liposuction , especially when combined with other procedures, can make balancing the patient's fluid volume more difficult. Regardless of the procedure, any patient  should  make sure their surgeon has  admitting privileges at a nearby hospital in case an unexpected situation arises and the patient needs extended monitoring

Good question. General recommendations for safe outpatient surgery involve surgical time limits of under 6 hours for a general anesthetic case. If time exceeds 6 hours, surgery is more safely done in a hospital setting.

Although there is no “legal” time limit, duration of surgery is certainly one of the factors that need to be taken into consideration when performing multiple/combined procedures for a patient.  I certainly tried to keep the procedures performed under 6 hours of duration.

 Other factors such as selection of plastic surgeon,  exact procedures planned, estimated blood loss, duration of surgery,  recovery considerations, anesthesia provider, surgery facility are all important  considerations.
 

Best wishes.