Breast Enhancement Under Local Anesthesia
Offered at our convenient location in Scottsdale, Arizona
Breast enhancement under local anesthesia is a safer alternative to traditional cosmetic breast procedures. Involved surgeries like breast enhancement have traditionally been performed with general anesthesia on an unconscious patient. However, more and more of today’s leading plastic surgeons are promoting the benefits of performing certain surgical procedures using an effective combination of local anesthesia and gentle sedatives. This approach to cosmetic surgery features improved safety, ease to administer, a more accessible price, and quicker recovery – making it preferred by surgeons and patients alike. (1)
At Wolin Plastic Surgery Center, we insist on the latest technology and medical advances. Breast enhancement performed under local anesthesia is just another opportunity to give our patients the best possible experience. Dr. Andrew Wolin uses innovative techniques that allow women to enjoy a surge of self-confidence, and a set of beautiful breasts that perfectly displays their unique femininity. To learn more about breast enhancement using local anesthesia, schedule a personal consultation at our Scottsdale office today. Call us at (480) 945-8440 to get started on enhancing all of your unique assets.
Contents
Before and After Photos
About Anesthesia
Anesthesiology is an exacting medical science. Since becoming widely used in the 1800s, it’s saved lives by allowing surgeons to perform operations that would otherwise be impossible on a conscious and sensate patient. Physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes was awed by this potential after witnessing the use of ether in 1846. In fact, he is responsible for coining the term “anesthesia” from Greek roots that mean “without perception.” (2) General anesthesia remains essential for certain long and intensive surgeries to be performed safely today. However, general anesthesia presents considerable risks that need to be weighed carefully. In some surgical scenarios, it can be one of the most dangerous parts of the operation, especially for patients with deep vein thrombosis, who risk pulmonary embolism. (3) These risks simply aren’t warranted for certain surgeries, including breast enhancement.
Staying Local
Today’s breast enhancement procedures are quicker and less invasive thanks to rapidly improving technology and surgical techniques. As a result, it’s no longer necessary that the patient be rendered unconscious. Surgeries performed under local anesthesia are also called “awake” procedures, although in fact they are performed under gentle sedation. This technique uses a combination of local anesthetics at the site of the procedure and sedatives to relax the patient. This allows the patient to slip into a relaxed state called “twilight sedation,” a dreamy in-between state. The American Society of Anesthesiologists explains that this drug-induced “depression of consciousness” still allows patients to respond to verbal commands or light touch. (4) However, patients are unable to feel any pain, and often have no memory of the surgery after their sedative wears off. And, unlike general anesthesia which can take hours to subside and days for the body to process, local anesthetics allow patients to return to lucidity quickly, and to avoid the side effects of general anesthesia’s heavy drugs.
A Better Solution for Pain
General anesthesia puts the patient in a coma-like state and renders the brain unable to respond to any stimulus or process pain signals. That doesn’t mean the pain isn’t occurring. Local anesthesia is able to prevent nerves from ever sending the pain message to the brain, so the procedure is less taxing on the body, and patients are able to manage discomfort much more easily during their recovery. (5)
Personal Consultation
During your personal consultation, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of Dr. Wolin’s honest compassion, artistic sensibility, and decades of surgical expertise. Dr. Wolin performs an ultrasound breast examination on every patient pursuing breast enhancement to ensure that they are a good candidate for their procedure of choice and that they are in good health. After examinations, an honest discussion of your aesthetic goals, and a review of your medical history, Dr. Wolin will be able to determine whether you are a good candidate for breast enhancement. You can expect a thorough explanation of the details of your procedure and clear guidelines on how to prepare for your specific breast enhancement procedure. If you’re ready to start enjoying a beautiful set of breasts, contact our office to schedule your consultation today.
Breast Enhancement in Scottsdale
Dr. Wolin offers patients from Scottsdale and beyond a wide range of breast enhancement procedures, and all can be safely performed under local anesthesia. What sets Dr. Wolin apart from other plastic surgeons is his innovative and thorough approach to local anesthesia, and his ability to use groundbreaking technology to achieve optimal results.
Before beginning a breast enhancement procedure, Dr. Wolin conducts an ingenious breast nerve block. Guided by ultrasound imaging, he is able to place the local anesthesia in strategic locations to completely numb the breast nerves. Very few doctors administer local anesthesia in this manner, but Dr. Wolin is committed to providing his patients with the most sophisticated medical approaches – and has been since he began his practice over 30 years ago.
This use of local anesthesia has several advantages that significantly impact a patient’s experience and results:
- This application of local anesthesia is long-lasting, so the breasts remain numb, and the patient remains comfortable hours after her surgery is complete.
- The dangerous side-effects of intravenous drugs used in general anesthesia are avoided.
- The patient enjoys a lower cost for the procedure since an anesthesiologist is not required.
- The procedure can be performed at Dr. Wolin’s private, fully certified operating suite, rather than a public hospital.
Breast enhancements that can be performed under local anesthesia include breast lifts, breast reductions, breast implant exchanges, and the proprietary Wolin Wonder Breast Augmentation!
Recovery and Results
The benefits of a breast enhancement with local anesthesia continue long after your procedure ends. Your breast nerve blocks will continue to keep you comfortable after you return home. You’ll be given detailed after-care instructions to optimize your comfort and healing time, which will vary depending on the breast enhancement procedure that you’ve undergone.
Nevertheless, thanks to the local anesthesia, you’ll avoid the nausea, pain, and other harsh side effects of general anesthesia. There’s another benefit to your recovery: this approach to surgery results in less post-operative bleeding. Because general anesthesia affects the heart rate, bleeding is harder to detect while the patient is still under. This makes it more difficult to predict and harder to control after the anesthesia has worn off. Local anesthesia allows Dr. Wolin to further minimize tissue disruption and better control bleeding during and after surgery. (6)
Dr. Wolin is renowned for his meticulous incisions and sutures, and his ability to dramatically minimize potential scarring. Using local anesthesia for breast enhancements doubly ensures less trauma, less bleeding, and as a result, less scar tissue. The only evidence of surgery that women are left with is beautiful results.
How Much Does a Breast Enhancement Under Local Anesthesia Cost in Scottsdale?
The cost of breast enhancements varies depending on the procedure and the patient’s unique circumstances. However, patients that undergo breast enhancements with local anesthesia experience significant savings as opposed to those who opt for general anesthesia. Breast enhancement procedures at Wolin Plastic Surgery Center begin at $3,495.
FAQ
What is local anesthesia?
Local anesthesia is usually applied as an injection that numbs only the area being treated and leaves the patient conscious, and able to feel sensations in other parts of their body. Local anesthetics prevent the treated nerve from releasing the chemicals necessary to send the pain message to the brain.
What are some of the risks of general anesthesia?
Some of the risks associated with general anesthesia are the possibilities of postoperative nausea and vomiting. This can be dangerous, and the additional risk of a pulmonary embolism can be fatal. General anesthesia also requires a longer recovery time, and the medication used can have harsh side effects that last well after your surgery.
References
- Gart MS, Ko JH, Heyer KS, Mustoe TA. Breast Implant Procedures under Conscious Sedation. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2013;131(5):1169-1178. doi:10.1097/PRS.0b013e31828e2196
- Perkins B. How does anesthesia work? Scientific American. Published 2018. Accessed March 15, 2021. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-anesthesia-work/
- Marcus J, Tyrone J, Few J, Fine N, Mustoe T. Optimization of Conscious Sedation in Plastic Surgery Article Tools. Maxillofacial Surgeons. 1999;104(5):1338-1345. https://www.drthomasmustoe.com/content/uploads/2020/03/Optimization-of-Conscious-Sedation-in-Plastic-Surgery.pdf
- Pollock H, Forman S, Pollock T, Raccasi M. Conscious Sedation/Local Anesthesia in the Office-Based Surgical and Procedural Facility. Clinics in Plastic Surgery. 2013;40(3):383-388. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2013.04.014
- Bagshaw KR, Hanenbaum CL, Carbone EJ, et al. Pain management via local anesthetics and responsive hydrogels. Ther Deliv. 2015;6(2):165-176. doi:10.4155/tde.14.95
- Chung, K.-J., Cha, K.-H., Lee, J.-H., Kim, Y.-H., Kim, T.-G., & Kim, I.-G. (2012). Usefulness of Intravenous Anesthesia Using a Target-controlled Infusion System with Local Anesthesia in Submuscular Breast Augmentation Surgery. Archives of Plastic Surgery, 39(5), 540. https://doi.org/10.5999/aps.2012.39.5.540