If you are going to undergo plastic surgery, you will need some sort of sedation for most if not all procedures. This article suggests the different options that you have, as well as their advantages and drawbacks.
Talk to your plastic surgeon for more information and details on each option, as well as what they would recommend. Make sure that you do your research before you choose your method, so that you can understand everything that is entailed.
Many people assume that being completely under using General Anesthesia guarantees you will not feel anything, whereas you may feel something under IV sedation. This is not the case at all.
Under a general anesthetic, a patient may feel pain or be conscious enough to remember comments, but cannot respond because of the breathing tube. Under IV sedation, there are levels of sedation the patient goes through before becoming fully conscious.
You will be able to breathe on your own and move with IV sedation, and your surgeon will be able to know if you are experiencing any pain or discomfort. They will be able to more carefully monitor what you are experiencing, and help you when you are in need of anything.
If you need more sedation or anesthetic, they will know when to give it to you. Because sedation cannot accomplish total analgesia, or pain relief, the use of an IV forces the surgeon to be more skilled with local anesthesia to numb the area where the doctor is going to be working.
Your plastic surgeon may want to inject localized anesthesia into your surgical site, whether it is in your face, your breast, or any other part of your body.
Under a General Anesthetic, the surgeon rarely takes the time to do a local anesthetic block of the surgical field, since the anesthesiologist is taking care of the pain issue. Unfortunately, once this has worn off, narcotics are needed at the end of the procedure to blunt the pain that you may feel as you wake.
Narcotics come with their own set of problems, including nausea, depressing respiration, constipation, and more. These symptoms are not very pleasant, and you may experience one or all of them.
If your surgeon chooses to use an IV, this will block the pain nerve fibers before doing surgery-this block lasts anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours, which means you will feel less pain upon waking. In addition, you will need little to no narcotics, which is good if you want to avoid the potential side effects.
Most patients are concerned about which option is going to be the safest for them. If the procedure is less than four hours in total length, it really depends on which technique your surgeon is more comfortable with.
Most anesthesiologists prefer to use a general anesthesia, because they are able to have total control of your airway. If they use an IV, they will need to monitor your airway constantly, and very carefully.
IV sedation is technically harder, most would report. Your surgeon will need to be very skilled when it comes to local anesthetic techniques, as mentioned previously.
If you are having a procedure which lasts longer than four hours, you are much more likely to receive complications when using general. The longer your surgery is, the more risk you are prone to.
Complications to the lungs and blood clots increase quite a bit-you and your doctor will need to weigh the risks, and decide which is the right option. IVs have a track record of being much safer for length surgeries, so this may be the option that you want to pursue.
Above all, both surgeon and anesthesia provider should feel comfortable with the plan that you all agree upon. If the surgery is going to be long, you, as a patient, should weigh carefully the risks and benefits of each method.
Make sure that you are familiar with the technique that is going to be used, and that your doctor is very experienced with this method. You want to make sure that you are going to be safe, and that your procedure will come with as little risk as possible.
Thoroughly research these methods and talk to your plastic surgeon about the best option for your particular procedure. If you make the right choice, your surgery is likely to go much more smoothly, and safely.
Author Resource:-
Terry Daniels has been a plastic surgeon for over 20 years and has written hundreds of articles relating to plastic surgery. He recommends liposuction Utah for your plastic surgery needs.
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