As a plastic surgeon who dedicates a significant portion of his practice to surgeries under local anesthesia, I'd like to share my years of experience on this popular topic.
Plastic surgery deals with the largest organ in the body: the skin! That's why, like every plastic surgeon, I performed thousands of local anesthesia procedures during my specialist training. From simple suturing to mole removals, from tumor surgeries to eyelid operations, I've increased the number of interventions I perform under local anesthesia each year. When establishing my own clinic, I took care to create a safe and technically adequate environment for surgeries under local anesthesia.
First, I must say that performing surgery under local anesthesia requires experience. Not just performing the surgery, but especially in some operations, even applying local anesthesia requires significant expertise. Having performed thousands of surgeries under local anesthesia during specialist training gives us Turkish plastic surgeons serious experience in this area.
Unless there's a contraindication, I try to perform every surgical intervention under local anesthesia. I can briefly list the advantages as follows:
It's generally considered a safer anesthesia method compared to general anesthesia, as the patient remains conscious during surgery and only a small area where surgery will be performed is numbed.
Fewer drugs are used, so the likelihood of side effects such as post-surgical nausea and vomiting is reduced. This means a faster recovery process.
Local anesthesia also functions as a short-term painkiller after surgery, meaning less need for painkillers post-operation.
Although it's the aspect I care least about as a physician, it's worth mentioning that it's more cost-effective compared to general anesthesia, as it doesn't require hospital stays and many medications.
In short, I can say that local anesthesia is safer, has fewer side effects, and leads to a faster recovery process.
Of course, we don't prefer local anesthesia in some cases. Especially in cases of very advanced age, serious heart conditions, or severe anxiety, even if I'm going to perform a minor surgical procedure, I refer my patients to general anesthesia.
Finally, let's list the most common and popular surgeries I perform under local anesthesia:
Thread lift applications
As I conclude, I'd like to remind you of the saying 'there is no disease in medicine, only patients'. I've tried to provide general information, but the surgeries mentioned here may not be suitable for every patient under local anesthesia. The best decision is to contact your surgeon and have an examination.
