A Rhinoplasty is an invasive, surgical procedure that requires adequate anesthesia to cause artificial pain insensitivity for the duration of a patients’ surgery. The rhinoplasty procedure lasts between 1 to 3 hours on average where patients can experience a pain-free, relaxing experience, whether having local, (awake) anaesthetic or General, (asleep) anaesthetic. It is common for cosmetic surgery patients to have concerns about the use of anaesthetic and we will be happy to address all of your questions so that you feel comfortable about your surgical procedure.
Dr. Philip Solomon performs rhinoplasty both at the Solomon Nasal and Facial Plastic Surgery Centre as well as in hospital. In general, patients are discharged on the day of their surgery after careful examination by the clinical team. However, if the patient requires observation by a health care professional there is an option for overnight stay. While a patients’ anesthesia may be administered by a certified registered nurse-anesthetist, or a certified anesthesiologist, or by the surgeon, at Solomon Facial Plastic we typically use general anesthetic administered by a certified anesthesiologist for most Rhinoplasty procedures. More details about what your needs will be for your rhinoplasty surgery, will be provided during your surgical consultation.
Anesthesia: Local, Local With Sedation Or General
Anesthesia can be classified into local, local with sedation or general depending on the area to be anesthetized and the patients’ needs. Among those listed, local anesthesia anesthetizes the smallest area and can be performed by a simple injection or topical application of an anesthetic agent (ie. Lidocaine), at the incision site. Local with sedation involves the addition of intravenously admin-istered medication by an anesthetist in order to keep a patient awake yet relaxed in what is often called “twilight” state throughout their procedure. When undergoing general anesthesia, you may be sedated by a certified anesthesiologist, with round the clock monitoring of important signs (blood pressure, breathing rate, lung ventilation) and will likely be completely unconscious. General anesthesia usually involves an inhaled gas along with a combination of intravenous anesthetic agents. During the surgery, the surgeon may also inject a drug called epinephrine into the tissues that will reduce bleeding through constriction of blood vessels.
At the Solomon Nasal and Facial Surgery Centre, the surgery is typically performed with a combination of local anesthesia and sedative agents, or general anesthesia in some situations. Individuals under local anesthesia will be conscious, so their eyes are covered to obstruct their vision of the surgical site. Sedatives work to keep you relaxed and calm during the procedure. Dr. Solomon will provide you with the possible options for your situation during your surgical consultation. Keep in mind that minor reshaping will most likely be performed with local anesthesia. If the situation warrants extensive work, you will probably be advised about general anesthesia.
Am I Required To Fast Before Surgery?
When a procedure requires general anaesthesia, avoiding food and drink after midnight the night prior is required. This will prevent aspiration (choking) of the food particles that could move upward from the stomach while a person is laying down with a tube placed in the airway for breathing assistance. If you consume any food or drinks on the morning of your surgery, inform your surgeon immediately.
Risks And Considerations For Anesthesia
Even though anesthesia is a safe procedure when administered by a trained health care provider, it is not without associated risks.
Health problems may result from the use of any medication and this includes anesthesia.. Some individuals may be genetically prone to an allergic reaction to one of the medications used during anesthesia. Anesthesia can also affect the normal rhythm of the heart so patients are monitored continuously during the surgery to prevent a heart attack. Most healthy cosmetic patients have very low risk factors such as deep vein thrombosis or active infections, and precautions are taken to monitor patients and test for underlying medical conditions before planning surgery. Smokers are more likely to have problems with anesthesia than nonsmokers.
In medically stable individuals with low risk factors, adverse reactions are extremely rare, so patients should understand the associated risks but not be deterred by them as thousands of patients undergo anesthesia safely every day.
Special Medication Alerts
During the surgical consultation, we ask that you provide Dr. Solomon with a list of your current medications including herbals, and recreational drugs with any history of drug allergies. Dr. Solomon will then evaluate your suitability for the anesthetics agents and plan for any appropriate changes to the dosage.
If you have a history of depression and take a class of drugs called monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors let us know as these drugs may interact with the anesthetic agents even if you stop them several weeks prior to the surgery. Ensuring that your surgeon knows your complete medical history helps to ensure optimal health and safety.
Aug 23rd 2017