Surgeons use a combination of anesthesia and sedation therapies to ensure your surgery is pleasant and painless. If you are considering facial cosmetic surgery, you may be wondering what different types of anesthesia are administered during the procedure. These different types include local anesthesia, conscious sedation, and general anesthesia.
3 Different Types of Anesthesia Administered in Facial Cosmetic Surgery
Different types of anesthesia work to numb physical sensation, alleviate anxiety and ensure your comfort during facial cosmetic surgery. Surgeons administer a combination of local anesthesia and conscious sedation or general anesthesia. Depending on your comfort level, you can choose general anesthesia instead of conscious sedation to ensure the deepest possible level of relaxation.
Local Anesthesia: Mild Sedative
If you have ever had any dental procedure, like a crown or filling, you have likely experienced local anesthesia. A local anesthetic numbs a small area of your body and blocks your brain from receiving nerve pain responses. In facial cosmetic surgery, local anesthesia can be administered topically or by injection. Local anesthesia is the lightest sedation method and does not affect your consciousness.
IV Sedation (“Twilight” Sedation): Medium Sedative
Facial cosmetic surgery sometimes requires a deeper level of sedation to ensure your comfort and compliance during the procedure. IV sedation, also known as “twilight” sedation, is administered through an intravenous drip. While under IV sedation, patients remain conscious throughout the procedure but do not remember the experience afterward.
The intravenous medication keeps you in a “twilight” state, free of anxiety and responsive to your surgeon’s questions and instructions. Your surgical team will monitor your vitals during surgery. Following your procedure, you will still feel the effects of the sedative. Since you cannot drive yourself home, be sure to bring a chaperone to your procedure. The lingering effects of IV sedation usually wear off within four to six hours, and most patients resume driving the next day.
General Anesthesia: Heavy Sedative
General anesthesia is the heaviest type of sedation and renders you completely unconscious for the duration of your procedure. While under general anesthesia, patients remain under constant supervision by a licensed anesthesiologist. Your anesthesiologist ensures you continue to breathe while unconscious. General anesthesia is almost always administered in a hospital setting and is most common in more lengthy and complex facial surgeries. Following your procedure, the effects of general anesthesia will remain in your system for the next 24 hours, and some patients will experience nausea and vomiting. You should avoid heavy lifting, strenuous activity, and operating heavy machinery during this time.
What type of anesthesia do you prefer?
Every patient has a different sedation preference that depends on their level of surgical apprehension and anxiety. IV sedation provides anxiety alleviation while limiting the duration of post-surgical side effects. During your consultation, talk to your surgeon about the sedation options available to you and your sedation level preference.
Call our Upland, CA office today to schedule your consultation and determine the best type of anesthesia for your facial cosmetic surgery.