Deep Plane Facelift - is IV sedation for 4 - 5 hours safe?

It is very safe to do IV sedation for 4-5 hours. Typically, such procedures are done in an outpatient ambulatory setting and the standard guidelines is do the surgery under 6 hours. So, any procedures under 6 hours is safe in an ambulatory setting.

It is very common to be concerned about duration of anesthesia. IV sedation is lighter than general anesthesia and the wake up is easier and in general that duration of time is very safe if you are at an accredited surgery center with an experienced anesthesia provider. Of course, it also depends on your general health and any underlying conditions. Performing a deep plane face and neck lift and lower eyelid lift in 2 hours is not realistic, unless it’s not truly a deep plane facelift and only skin is being lifted. Some options are to break up the face and neck lift and lower eyelid surgery into 2 separate procedures. Local anesthesia for the facelift is also an option - I often perform facelifts under local anesthesia in patients who can’t have IV sedation (in the right candidates). I recommend discussing your concerns with your facelift surgeon during the consultation. Best of luck!

Hello . 2 Hours is little bit less for a deep plane face and necklift surgery . İt seems it is not realistic .3,5-4 hours may be

Hi 15Di5a9n4a! That’s a very important question.

Is IV sedation safe for a 4–5 hour procedure?
Yes — when administered by an experienced anesthesia team in an accredited surgical facility, IV sedation is generally safe for procedures of this length. Studies show that deep IV sedation can be just as safe as general anesthesia for facial surgeries. General anesthesia is also an option, providing complete unconsciousness. The choice of anesthesia should be discussed with your surgeon and anesthesiologist to ensure the safest approach while keeping you comfortable.

Can a deep plane facelift with neck and under-eye blepharoplasty be done in 2 hours?
Typically not. A full deep plane facelift combined with neck and under-eye surgery usually takes 3–6 hours to perform safely and achieve optimal results. Trying to rush it into 2 hours could compromise both safety and outcomes.

In a healthy patient, 4-5 hours of sedation while being fully monitored is very safe. My only commentary is that a 2 hour deep plane facelift that includes the neck and lower lid blepharoplasty seems a little bit quick. Usually that is about a 3.5 hour procedure in my hands. There can be a variation on time between Surgeons, but a lot of meticulous detail is being addressed in a deep plane facelift and lower lid blepharoplasty.

If you are in good health with no issues, it should be no problem undergoing a procedure that long under sedation or general anesthesia. The more important question would be how safe is the facility? Is it state licensed, Medicare certified, uses board certified anesthesiologists, etc. If all of these answers are yes, then you should be in good hands.

I think 4-5 hours is probably fairly typical/average for that type combo of procedures. It is safe but it would of course be very specific to you with your medical comorbidities and what they plan to give you for your anesthesia. Local is possible but may be challenging for the combination of procedures you are getting.

It is close to unfeasible to perform a deep plane faclelift with Connell's flaps on the SMAS, Guerrerosanto's platysmaplasty, defatting, skin adjustment, etc under local and sedation in 4-5 hours.

A skilled and quickhanded surgeon needs 5-6 hours, no less, and general anesthesia is a must.

I fear in the end you won't get a real deep plane facelift.

We do those procedures together often. It takes about 3 hours or 3 and a half. We use IV propofol and it is a type of general anesthesia that is very safe. In fact, that's what most surgeons would want for themselves.
Having done literally thousands of cases this way in our surgery center, I can tell you it is very safe and comfortable.