Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

The part that tends to unnerve most people about surgery is the anesthesia.

If you do some research beforehand and aren’t shy about asking your surgeon about any pressing concerns, you’ll have a pretty solid idea of what the surgery will entail, potential complications that may arise, and what the recovery’s going to be like. But the anesthesia can be a bit more difficult to understand because everyone responds a little differently to it.

Let’s dive into local vs. general anesthesia and the major differences between them. The upside to that is that the anesthesia can be tailored to the patient. So, just as plastic surgery is safer than it’s ever been, anesthesia is, too.

Local vs. general anesthesia

There are two basic kinds of anesthesia, local and general. Local, which is injected, numbs only the area that’s being treated. If you’ve had a dental procedure, chances are a local anesthesia, probably lidocaine, was used. By contrast, you’re completely unconscious under general anesthesia, which can be administered by inhalation or through an IV, though the latter is much more widespread today.

People like to equate being under general anesthesia to being in a deep sleep, but it’s more than that. It’s temporarily disabling the brain’s response to pain signals. When you awake from it, you won’t have any memory of the procedure. But, because you’ve been unconscious and unable to feel or react to anything for anywhere from an hour to several hours, you’re likely going to be dealing with delayed pain and discomfort as the drugs withdrawal from your system.

That can range from hangover-like symptoms—nausea, vomiting, and a headache—to breathing and blood pressure issues, all of which tend to resolve on their own between a few hours and a few days after the surgery. It can even lead to minor illnesses, like a cold or flu because your immune system was suppressed.

Which is to say that recovering from general anesthesia is fairly serious. You won’t be permitted to drive within at least 24 hours of your procedure. Combined with the residual discomfort from your surgery, you probably won’t be up for it anyway, or much of anything else, for the first couple of days.

With local anesthesia, there’s no recovery. In fact, you can drive yourself home after the procedure.

Ask your surgeon

Local anesthesia is frequently used with facial injectables, but it’s becoming much more common among surgical cosmetic procedures, too, even intensive procedures, like tummy tucks, breast augmentations, and rhinoplasty.

There are also instances when lighter variations of general anesthesia can be administered with the intent of minimizing, and even eliminating, the time the patient spends unconscious. It’s what’s referred to as twilight anesthesia. Essentially, you’ll become very relaxed and groggy, but you’ll never lose consciousness. Because it’s still considered general anesthesia, you’ll need someone to drive you home, though.

Here’s your takeaway about local vs. general anesthesia: Ask your plastic surgeon about your options. Just because a procedure’s traditionally been performed under general anesthesia doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have any choice in the matter. And even if they recommend general anesthesia, kick-start a new conversation about what exactly it’ll entail. The more open the dialogue, the more closely your anesthesia can be tailored to your needs.

Over 15.7 million minimally invasive – or nonsurgical, cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States in 2017, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. That’s up 186 percent from 2000. It’s also almost nine times more than the number of surgical cosmetic procedures that were done in 2017.

That data is telling in a number of ways. Perhaps most significantly, more and more people are gravitating to minimally invasive procedures, like a nonsurgical facelift, as they become more effective.

A nonsurgical facelift is actually a combination of treatments that are designed to shave years off your appearance, similar to a surgical facelift. But unlike the surgical facelift, you’re in and out of the surgeon’s office relatively quickly, you’ll experience little discomfort afterward, and the downtime, in turn, will be almost nonexistent.

Nonsurgical facelifts also come at a fraction of the cost of the surgical facelifts, but they may need touch ups every few months to maintain optimal results, which makes it a good way to test the waters, so to speak, if you’ve ever found yourself curious about a surgical facelift, but you’re anxious about its permanence.

Your goals tailor the treatment

A nonsurgical facelift is tailored to your goals, but it generally includes some combination of the following treatments:

• Dermal fillers – to restore volume along the cheeks, temples, lips, and under the eyes;
• Wrinkle relaxers – like Botox, to smooth forehead creases, frown lines, and crow’s feet;
• Fat injections – using cleaned and processed fatty tissue extracted through liposuction, to enhance facial volume;
• Chemical peels or laser resurfacing – to refresh dull or damaged skin; and
• Radiofrequency treatments – like Forma and Fractora, to increase your skin’s natural collagen production.

Dermal fillers, such as Juvederm, Restylane and Volbella usually last up to a full year, while Voluma will last for closer to two years. Botox will last usually from four to six months, fat injections will last for years, and the benefits of chemical peels, laser resurfacing, such as Halo, TRL and CO2, and radiofrequency treatments will become more apparent over the months after your nonsurgical facelift.

While the treatments may need a touch up from time to time, it’s worth noting that the more diligent you are, the less you may need over time.

Who’s a good candidate?

The nonsurgical facelift can slow the aging process, but it yields the best results when your skin is still elastic and your wrinkles aren’t very pronounced. In other words, your face shows only mild to moderate signs of aging.

Still, the results aren’t going to be as permanent as a surgical facelift. So, setting realistic expectations is important. Think of the nonsurgical facelift more as a subtle, natural recontouring of the face. You will be able to appreciate the results much sooner, though, than you would with a surgical facelift. The dermal fillers take effect instantly, and Botox begin taking effect within a few days and won’t require any downtime.

Chemical peels, laser resurfacing, and radiofrequency treatments may require a few days or weeks of recovery time, depending on the extent of your procedures—talk to your surgeon or medical aesthethician. Like I said, the nonsurgical facelift is tailored to your goals, and minimizing downtime certainly counts as one.