Would you ever undergo plastic surgery without full anesthesia? Many women deciding to do just that because relying on local anesthesia is cheaper, but experts warn that these procedures could be dangerous.
Called "Awake" cosmetic surgery, procedures performed under only local anesthesia that are marketed as being cheaper and more medically-advanced; patients are promised they will be able to interact with their doctor during the surgery.
However, Awake ads may not be meant to benefit patients after all. Joseph M. Gryskiewicz, M.D., chair of the emerging-trends committee of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), told Self magazine that the procedures are designed to meet doctors' needs:
"The reason for the 'awake' portion of it has nothing to do with improving patient comfort. It has to do with doctors not needing to involve an anesthesiologist."
Patients who choose Awake procedures may be the victim of "a gimmick by people who can't operate their way out of a wet paper bag," Gryskiewicz said.
What's even more disturbing is that Awake practitioners may not even have a plastic surgery background. For example, director of the American Board of Plastic Surgery Michael F. McGuire, M.D. told Self magazine that forty percent of liposuction practitioners in Southern California had no prior training. A 2010 study which appeared in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that many of the doctors performing lipo were actually ear, nose and throat specialists!
According to SELF, patients who go through an elective surgery without general anesthesia could end up in agony:
If a patient remains uncomfortable after a doctor has already maxed her out on lidocaine, an Awake practitioner is left with only two options: Halt the surgery, or grimace and carry on. Responsible doctors would do the former.
Would you agree to a cosmetic surgery procedure like lipo while you're fully awake?
