Is it painful to do blepharoplasty under local anesthesia? Is it possible to do blepharoplasty under local anesthesia Types of anesthesia during blepharoplasty surgery

To correct both the upper and lower eyelids, an aesthetic operation is performed - blepharoplasty. Hanging eyelids, bags under the eyes make the face look older and tired, and can also contribute to poor vision. Aesthetic eyelid correction eliminates these problems.

Circular blepharoplasty

Since blepharoplasty is a surgical intervention, it is performed under anesthesia, for complete anesthesia throughout the procedure. What type of anesthesia should be used during this operation: general or local? Will it hurt during surgery?

Local anesthesia

Most often, blepharoplasty is done under local anesthesia in combination with sedative therapy. This operation can be performed under general anesthesia if the patient is afraid of being conscious during any surgical intervention. Before using drug sleep, you must undergo a thorough examination and obtain permission from a doctor.

The operation is simple and plastic surgeons do it for about an hour. Since the surgery is less traumatic, it is better to choose local anesthesia. This anesthesia will reduce the risk of post-anesthetic complications, and on the same day, a couple of hours after the procedure, you can go home. It will only hurt a little in the place where painkillers are injected, but this is tolerable, unlike the side effects after drug sleep. Therefore, surgeons prefer to perform the operation under this method of anesthesia.

Transconjunctival blepharoplasty

Local anesthetics block nerve conduction, so there is a temporary loss of sensation in a limited area and the patient does not feel pain during the operation. After a few hours after the eyelid correction, the numbness will completely disappear. If the patient experiences pain after the procedure, the doctor will prescribe an anesthetic drug.

Sedative therapy is used before surgery, during correction in combination with local anesthetics and after it. It allows you to achieve complete calm and relaxation of the patient, and he will not worry that it will hurt when performing surgery under local anesthesia.

Being under observation after performing blepharoplasty under local anesthesia, the patient should immediately contact the medical staff if there are any negative sensations. For example, unbearably painful, burning or itching in the operated area, and so on. The supervising doctor will be able to provide first aid in time for the development of complications.

drug sleep

Under general anesthesia, the patient is unconscious with a complete absence of pain throughout the body. To perform blepharoplasty, the patient is given such anesthesia if he is afraid that it will hurt under the local one or transconjunctival aesthetic plastic surgery should be performed. In this operation, the surgeon makes an incision on the inside of the eyelids.

Only anesthesiologists do anesthesia with a complete blackout of consciousness. Previously, patients undergo a full examination and pass additional tests prescribed by the supervising doctor. Anesthesiologists must conduct a preoperative consultation in order to identify the presence of allergic reactions to medications, previous serious illnesses, and so on.

Throughout the surgical intervention, the anesthesiologist monitors the condition of the operated person. The operated under general anesthesia does not hurt when the surgeons do all the necessary manipulations. After a complete awakening, the patient does not remember the details of the operation due to the complete loss of consciousness.

If it is possible to perform blepharoplasty under local anesthesia, it is better to refuse medication sleep, because it will not hurt in any case. The rehabilitation period will pass much faster and without unnecessary post-anesthetic complications, and the patient will be able to return home earlier.

Preparation

Young woman having a blepharoplasty consultation

Preparation for surgery on the eyelids depends on the type of anesthesia. Before applying local anesthetics, preparation is minimal and does not require much effort. It is necessary to stop drinking alcohol 24 hours before the procedure, and you should also refrain from smoking. Your surgeon should be told if you are taking any other medicines, especially those that make your blood clot poorly. If the operating doctor prescribed an additional drink of sedatives, be sure to follow the instructions.

General anesthesia requires more careful preparation. It is very important to stop smoking two months before the scheduled date of aesthetic surgery - blepharoplasty. Smoking strongly affects the lungs and after medication sleep can even provoke pneumonia. Alcoholic drinks are also not recommended to be consumed during the day before the operation, and after that refuse for the entire recovery period.

Age-related changes in the eyelids can only be corrected by blepharoplasty - a surgical operation to tighten the skin of the upper and lower eyelids. It is carried out solely for aesthetic purposes, but women are ready to endure the pain and inconvenience of postoperative recovery for the sake of radical rejuvenation.

After forty or fifty years, the only real way to get rid of the problems of age-related aging of the eye area, including hernia of the lower eyelid, severe wrinkles, saggy skin, is to do blepharoplasty. But in some cases, correction can be made at an earlier age. The operation is one of the most popular, because visually you can look ten to fifteen years younger.

Indications for correction

Why is eyelid surgery needed? The essence of the operation is the excision of excess skin and accumulations of fat. They make the face look old and tired. The indications for a radical facelift are as follows:

overhanging of the skin of the upper eyelid on the growth area of the upper eyelashes;
absence of a fold of the upper eyelid as a result of a strong overhang of the skin;
the formation of deep wrinkles in the lower eyelids;
the formation of numerous wrinkles under the lower eyelids (“corrugated paper effect”);
deterioration of vision as a result of severe sagging of the upper eyelid;
permanent fat bags under the lower eyelids;
special structure of the upper eyelid, which does not allow the use of cosmetics (natural overhang).

Before plastic surgery, you should check your health, as there are contraindications: blood clotting disorders, oncology, skin diseases, diabetes, hyperthyroidism.

If there are no contraindications, the plastic surgeon will determine the condition of the skin, outline a plan for the correction of the eyelids, hold a consultation and appoint a day for surgery.

Types of blepharoplasty

Which type of facelift the surgeon decides to apply depends on the specific problem. There are the following types of blepharoplasty:

correction of the upper eyelid;
change in the incision, shape of the eyes (canthoplasty, canthopexy);
correction of the lower eyelid with simultaneous removal of fat accumulations in the intraorbital region:
correction of the lower eyelid without removal of fat depots (fat is redistributed over the eyelid area);
simultaneous correction of the eyelids (circular blepharoplasty).

Surgery is performed either under general anesthesia or local anesthesia. Both options will not cause trouble, because it will not hurt in both cases.

Features of different types of correction

Upper blepharoplasty

The upper incision is made along the natural crease of the eyelid. The operation allows you to get rid of overhanging skin, change the shape of the eyes, for example, carry out a correction according to the “Cleopatra look” method. After healing, the seams are almost invisible and can be easily disguised cosmetically.

Blepharoplasty of the lower eyelid

On the lower eyelid, both skin dissection along the eyelash growth line and penetration (puncture) through the mucous membrane is possible. In the latter case, we are talking about the transconjunctival method, which allows only the removal of fat bags, and therefore cannot be used in the presence of skin excess and deep wrinkles.

Circular blepharoplasty

Circular blepharoplasty makes it possible to solve several problems at once:

correct overhanging of the upper eyelids, omission of the corners of the eye;
remove fat bags in the paraorbital region;
get rid of wrinkles;
correct the asymmetry of the cut of the eyes.

This type of correction is most preferable for a comprehensive disposal of signs of aging. In combination with other methods of hardware correction (fraxel, laser resurfacing, etc.), a stunning effect will be achieved that will last up to ten years. The seams are completely invisible.

Preparation for operational impact

Eyelid lift surgery takes a different amount of time. It depends on whether the surgeon will work only with the upper, only with the lower eyelids, or with both at once. In addition, it also matters whether the excision will be performed under local anesthesia or under general anesthesia. The decision is made before the procedure based on the initial examination of the skin structure, the condition of the facial muscle corset, the structure of the bones of the skull, the presence of asymmetry, etc. It is necessary to understand how much skin and adipose tissue will have to be removed.

When deciding on anesthesia, it is important to inform the doctor about the facts of an allergic reaction, especially to drugs and painkillers. Together with the client, the specialist will decide how the plastic will be performed: under general anesthesia or under local anesthesia.

Important: before surgery, no salon cosmetic procedures are allowed.

The doctor must find out how much tear fluid is produced, for which he will conduct a special examination before the operation. It is necessary to promptly report existing eye diseases, for example, glaucoma or dry eyes. It is important to talk about the presence of chronic diseases (diabetes, disruption of the thyroid gland, hematopoietic organs, etc.) - all these are contraindications for eyelid surgery. If the client is taking any drugs and herbal remedies, he should tell the doctor about it. All this will help prevent severe bleeding during surgery.

After the examination, the surgeon is obliged to talk about the possible consequences of surgical intervention, since there are cases of atypical skin reactions both to anesthesia and to the effect itself. At the same time, he will explain what result should be expected after the healing of the sutures and prescribe tests.

Preparation period

Before the operation, the client must go through a certain preparatory period:

drink plenty of water to ensure a quick, successful rehabilitation (you will have to drink water even after the operation is completed);
completely abandon nicotine, otherwise tissue regeneration will be very low, rehabilitation will be delayed;
exclude the use of aspirin, anti-inflammatory, homeopathic drugs, vitamin complexes not only on the day of the operation, but also three or four days before it (they provoke bleeding, why risk it).

Local anesthesia or general anesthesia

If the operation is to be performed under local anesthesia, general tests such as blood chemistry, blood clotting (coagulogram), and infections will be required. You can get advice from a therapist and a narrow specialist if you have a chronic illness.

If the operation is complex and takes place under general anesthesia, then it will be necessary not only to pass tests, but also to undergo an ECG procedure, take a fluorography or take an x-ray of the sternum, visit an anesthesiologist for a consultation.

The choice between local anesthesia and anesthesia is easily explained. If we are talking about circular plastic surgery, anesthesia is needed, because the time of exposure to tissues and mucous membranes increases. In addition, it does not hurt at all, while under local anesthesia discomfort may well appear. If the surgeon acts only on the bottom or top of the eyes, local anesthesia can be dispensed with.

The operation is performed on an outpatient basis. After plastic surgery, the client must go home, but for the first day, a loved one must be with him.

How is the operation

Before the operation, the surgeon uses a special marker to mark the area to be treated, then injects an anesthetic (this can be painful). If the operation is performed by the traditional surgical method, then a thin incision is made with a scalpel on the skin or on the mucous membrane of the lower eyelid (for transconjunctival plasty).

Unnecessary tissues and fat sacs are excised through incisions. The surgeon can simultaneously tighten the muscles, strengthen them. Sometimes fat is not removed, but redistributed under the lower eyelid.

The sutures are sewn with special threads that do not leave scars when resorbed: the sutures will be invisible. In some cases, the surgeon simultaneously applies a laser (it does not hurt at all) to improve the condition of the skin. After restoration, you can do grinding.

Recovery period

After the operation, it will take time to return to normal life and enjoy the effect that blepharoplasty gives to the eyes. In advance, before going to the clinic, you need to prepare the following means:

ice cubes;
gauze napkins;
pharmacy preparations for the eyes (the surgeon will prescribe them on the eve of the operation);
pain pills or injections (some can cause bleeding, so it's best to ask your doctor for a list of acceptable drugs):
the surgeon will tell you in detail how to do drainage and dressing (if necessary), which antibiotic to take.

The first time after the surgical exposure, it will be difficult for the eyes: they will become more responsive to light, profuse lacrimation will appear, and double vision may appear. The first two or three days the stitches will stand out, swelling will appear, numbness may persist - the consequences of local anesthesia or anesthesia. This is a normal reaction.

How long the swelling and bruising will last depends on the sensitivity of the skin. On average, recovery occurs on the seventh to tenth day. It shouldn't hurt, but discomfort may follow. You can make ice compresses and take painkillers.

Never take aspirin or naproxen. It is forbidden to take ibuprofen, herbal supplements.

Usually on the third or fourth day, anesthesia is no longer needed.

Removal of stitches

What day are the stitches removed? The doctor will prescribe the first consultation on the third postoperative day. If all is well, the stitches are removed. It doesn't hurt at all. If something alerts the doctor, he will advise you to wait a little longer, in this case the stitches are removed on the fourth day.

If the eyelids are very painful, there is swelling, redness, the seams are inflamed, an immediate consultation with the surgeon is needed.

Is blepharoplasty necessary?

Bearing in mind the possible complications both during the operation and after, the question arises: is a correction really necessary? If blepharoplasty is conceived, only the patient himself can analyze the pros and cons in order to make the right decision.

Advantages of the operation

bags under the eyes will completely disappear;
it won't hurt;
the look will become younger, open due to the correction of the upper eyelid;
in some cases, vision will improve (there are medical indications);
the seams are invisible.

Impact cons

the results can not be seen immediately (at least on the thirtieth day, or even after one and a half to two months);
long recovery period, accompanied by discomfort;
in some cases, a second operation will be required if there are deep wrinkles on the forehead;
plastic may be unsuccessful, there will be no result.

Complications

Do not discount the complications that such a surgical effect can cause:

allergy to an anesthetic drug;
hematoma formation;
inflammation as a result of infection;
tissue scarring;
the formation of an inverted lower eyelid.

There are no medical indications for blepharoplasty, so you can make decisions on your own. What it will become depends only on the desire of a woman to become younger, more beautiful, remove bags and wrinkles, and look ten years younger.

Narcosis or local anesthesia? When performing certain plastic surgeries, the patient can independently choose one of the two proposed options. If you decide to do a traditional abdominoplasty, then anesthesia will definitely be chosen, even without your participation. But if you just want to do eyelid surgery, then here you can express your preferences regarding pain relief. Blepharoplasty is sometimes performed under local anesthesia, which pleases patients who want to avoid full immersion in sleep during the operation. What are the obvious and not at first glance noticeable features of eyelid correction under local anesthesia?

Eyelid surgery and local anesthesia

If you decide on blepharoplasty, this does not mean that the possibility of general anesthesia is automatically excluded in your case. It is possible to avoid anesthesia during surgical correction of the eyelids only with a technically simple and small operation, for example, with upper blepharoplasty. Of no small importance is the moral state of a person who must be psychologically prepared to undergo surgery while being conscious.

Speaking about the advantages of using local anesthesia for plastic surgery on the eyelids, it is worth mentioning the following points:

extremely low risk of developing possible complications, since more “heavy” drugs are used during anesthesia
the patient can move the eyelids and open and close them at the request of the doctor, which makes it easier for the latter to perform the operation
reduces the risk of under- or over-correction of the eyelids
Ability to go home on the day of surgery

But since plastic surgery, regardless of the level of technical complexity, is a surgical intervention, blepharoplasty under local anesthesia has its own pitfalls. So:

during the operation, the patient will have high blood pressure due to nervous tension. In itself, this phenomenon is not dangerous, but it will be less convenient for the doctor to work
there is still a risk of allergic and other drug reactions
many surgeons as a matter of principle work only with patients under anesthesia, so as not to be distracted by anything during the operation

How is the operation carried out?

Whether local or general anesthesia is ultimately used, the patient follows the same rules regarding the preoperative period. So, you can not take blood-thinning drugs, 2 weeks before the intervention, stop drinking alcohol and smoking. The patient submits a list of tests, and the doctors compile his allergological and anesthetic history so that during the operation there are no complications and threats to the health and life of the patient.

Before the operation, the plastic surgeon applies special markings on those parts of the eyelids where eyelid surgery will be performed. Then an antiseptic is applied to the entire face, painkillers are injected. After the anesthetic takes effect, the plastic surgeon begins manipulations.

After the operation is completed, the patient spends several hours in the ward under observation. If no complications have arisen, painkillers (tablets or injections) are prescribed, then the patient is discharged home.

Is it painful to do blepharoplasty under local anesthesia?

So that the patient does not feel pain and at the same time is not under anesthesia, two methods are used.

The first is called application, which involves the local application of an anesthetic cream or spray. After that, the area becomes numb, but the action of the cream does not affect the deep layers. This method of pain relief is usually used for injections of Botox or fillers.
The second way is injection. From the name it is clear that the anesthetic drug is injected into the tissues with an injection, which allows the active substance to penetrate into the subcutaneous fat. fiber and muscles. Typically, the drug includes lidocaine, ultracaine and bupivacaine.

The injections themselves are rather unpleasant to endure, because the injections are injected at a considerable depth, and at the same time, the periorbital region itself is very sensitive. When the operation itself is going on, there will be no pains themselves, but all the manipulations will be felt - the pressure of the instruments, the moving threads during suturing. The process will resemble dental treatment with anesthesia, when the movements of dental instruments in the oral cavity are felt, but without pain.

During blepharoplasty, the patient will see the light of surgical lamps, and also, if a laser is used instead of a scalpel, the person lying on the operating table will also have to inhale the smell of burnt meat. Not everyone can cope with such an ordeal in cold blood, so sedatives are often added to local anesthesia to bring the patient into a more calm, sleepy state.

If the patient has a low pain threshold or is too sensitive, then intravenous sedation is usually recommended. Consciousness is turned off, which makes this option of anesthesia almost equivalent to anesthesia, with which they differ only in the dosage of drugs and the possibility of spontaneous breathing.

How long the duration of anesthesia will be provided depends on the amount and concentration of the administered drug. The individual characteristics of the patient's body also have their influence. There have been cases when during the operation the patient feels that the effect of the painkiller is reduced. In such a situation, it is necessary to tell the plastic surgeon about this, who will introduce an additional injection.

Possible complications after blepharoplasty

The most dangerous complication of the use of local anesthesia is an allergic reaction to the components of the drug, which can lead to anaphylactic shock. To avoid this, the surgeon and anesthetist examine the patient's health and, if there is reasonable doubt, conduct a sensitivity test. This test is also carried out at the request of the patient. But even if the test turns out to be positive, then with a wide variety of modern anesthetics available today, it will not be difficult for doctors to replace the substance that causes an allergy in the patient in the composition of the drug.

Side effects of local anesthesia can be a puncture of the vessel, which will cause the patient to feel a burning sensation during the injection. After the operation, the puncture of the vessel may lead to the formation of a bruise. There is also a risk of impaired spontaneous breathing, but this complication occurs in patients with a history of serious respiratory dysfunction. But in such patients, local anesthetics are generally contraindicated.

Summing up

The choice of a particular type of anesthesia is influenced by whether upper or lower blepharoplasty will be performed. The individual characteristics of the patient's body also contribute to the selection process. Preferences in the choice of anesthesia can be expressed by the patients themselves, but the final word remains with the plastic surgeon. But patients should remember that the use of one or another type of anesthesia does not affect the quality of the operation - only the level of professionalism of the doctor affects this.

Adequate anesthesia for eyelid surgery is essential to ensure patient comfort and to minimize any discomfort associated with making incisions and suturing soft tissues. Many patients are interested in the approach to anesthesia for: what kind of anesthesia will be used and whether it is dangerous, for example, with allergies, as well as which anesthesia is better to choose for yourself.

How is anesthesia performed for eyelid surgery (what kind of anesthesia is used in blepharoplasty)?

There are three possible pain relief options:

Local administration of anesthetics;
Intravenous administration of painkillers and drugs with a relaxing and calming effect. These two methods can be combined with each other.
General inhalation and intravenous anesthesia with a complete "shutdown" of consciousness.

With local anesthesia, anesthetic injections are carried out at various depths of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. As a result, the areas where the incisions will be made are saturated with the drug. This leads to a temporary disappearance of pain sensitivity in the desired areas.

Intravenous anesthesia provides an excellent opportunity for the patient to feel completely relaxed, get rid of the fear of the operation itself, but at the same time have the opportunity to answer the doctor's questions or evaluate the aesthetic result of the intervention at any time. The right combination of drugs and careful selection of dosage can achieve the effect of superficial sleep. As a result, the process of the operation itself is forgotten and there are no unpleasant associations associated with it.

The use of inhalation anesthetics together with intravenous anesthesia is used in large-scale plastic surgeries with a long duration, where eyelid shape correction is only one of the components.

In order to accurately answer the question of under what kind of anesthesia blepharoplasty is performed, it is necessary to take into account the complexity of the operation, the patient's state of health and his attitude to various kinds of surgical interventions (for example, a tendency to fear and panic attacks), as well as his wishes and allergic history. Only after all these factors are taken into account, the attending doctor, together with the anesthetist, will decide which anesthesia for eyelid surgery is best to use in your case.

Anesthesia for blepharoplasty: which anesthesia to choose?

The decision must be made in consultation with the doctor. He will tell you about the expected duration of the operation, find out your wishes, learn about the presence of concomitant diseases and allergies.

For those who are afraid of the very fact of surgery and want to just fall asleep and wake up when it is already done, intravenous anesthesia with the use of painkillers and sedatives can be preferred. In this case, the specialist uses a combination of long-term and short-acting anesthetics, which allows you to maintain the effect of anesthesia for some time after the operation.

Under what anesthesia is blepharoplasty done for allergies?

The presence of an allergy, especially about such facts of its manifestation as swelling, must be told to the doctor in advance. It is also possible to undergo allergy tests in advance for certain types of anesthetics (lidocaine, bupivacaine, etc.). When the doctor gets acquainted with the results of such tests for hypersensitivity, he will select the safest combination of drugs that can be used for anesthesia in your case.

Despite the fact that in recent years general anesthesia has become extremely safe and comfortable, patients are always happy to opt for other, less deep options for anesthesia.

Unlike most plastic surgeries, Blepharoplasty can be performed under local anesthesia when the anesthetic effect affects only the area around the eyes, and the patient himself remains conscious. A full-fledged eyelid lift in the format of an outpatient procedure looks, of course, attractive - however, it has its own nuances and "pitfalls" that you should be aware of in advance.

So, does this method have objective advantages or disadvantages? When is it shown and when is it not? What drugs are used and how is the operation performed? The site goes into detail:

How do they do it?

Doing without general anesthesia with blepharoplasty will not work in all cases. This is possible only if a technically simple operation of a small volume is planned - for example, an isolated correction of the upper eyelids - and the patient himself is mentally ready to endure it, being fully conscious. At the same time, local anesthesia has obvious advantages:

the minimum likelihood of developing complications associated with the action of more "heavy" drugs for general anesthesia;
the ability to open and close the eyes on command, which greatly simplifies the operation for the surgeon, reduces the likelihood of under- and overcorrection;
the stay in the hospital after the end of the intervention is limited to a few hours, after which you can immediately go home. All subsequent manipulations (observation, removal of sutures) are already performed at an outpatient appointment.

So are some disadvantages:

in the absence of general anesthesia, and also due to the inevitable nervous tension, the patient's blood pressure will be quite high - this does not threaten health, but may interfere with the surgeon (in addition, many doctors, in principle, prefer to work with "sleeping" patients);
there is a small probability of allergic and other undesirable reactions to the administered drugs.

There are two ways to turn off pain sensitivity without putting a person to sleep:

Application - an anesthetic cream or spray is applied to the area of \u200b\u200bthe skin, and after a few minutes it “goes numb”. The main disadvantage of this option is that the effect practically does not affect the subcutaneous fat and muscles, so it is used only for minimally invasive procedures, such as or.
Injection - when the anesthetic is injected using a syringe with a thin needle. In this case, it will get into much deeper layers of the skin and tissues, and in addition, it will take much longer to act.

In surgical eyelid surgery, only the second (injection) method is used. Specific preparations can be very different, they are selected by the surgeon or anesthesiologist already “for the patient”. As a rule, these will be products based on lidocaine, ultracaine and bupivacaine. But novocaine, popular with cosmetologists, is not suitable because of the short duration of action.

Features of the operation under local anesthesia

Regardless of the type of anesthesia chosen, the preparatory stage will be approximately the same: the patient must pass a standard set of tests, temporarily give up alcohol, smoking and a number of medications. In addition, his allergological and anesthetic history is mandatory studied: whether operations were performed in the past, what kind of anesthesia was used and whether it led to any undesirable consequences, whether there is intolerance to certain drugs, etc. - this is necessary to exclude the possibility of anaphylactic shock and other serious complications.

Immediately before the start of the operation, a special marker on the skin of the eyelids marks the areas where the lift will be done. Next, the entire face is treated with an antiseptic, injections are given to “turn off” sensitivity, and when they work, the surgeon begins work.

Many people are concerned about the question: will they feel pain during eyelid surgery if they choose local anesthesia?

During the injections themselves, you will have to be patient: they are extremely uncomfortable, since the anesthetic drug is injected deep enough and at the same time into a very sensitive and delicate area around the eyes.
Further, during the operation, it will no longer hurt, but patients can feel the pressure of surgical instruments and the movement of the threads during suturing - much like we feel the dentist's manipulations inside our teeth and gums. In addition, you will have to look at the bright light of surgical lamps, and when using a laser scalpel, you will also have to smell the smell of burnt meat. For many, such sensations cause nervous tension and other unpleasant reactions, so local anesthesia is almost always supplemented with oral sedatives - they lead a person to a more calm, sleepy state.
For people with very low pain thresholds and/or increased anxiety, intravenous sedation may be indicated instead of oral, during which consciousness is turned off completely. Subjectively, this option is not much different from general anesthesia: the difference is only in the dosages of drugs and the possibility of spontaneous breathing.
The intensity and duration of local anesthesia depends on the amount of the injected drug, its concentration, as well as the individual characteristics of the human body. It happens that right during the operation, the effect of the anesthetic weakens and the sensitivity begins to return. This must be reported to the surgeon so that he can make an additional injection.

At the end of the plastic surgery, the patient is taken to the ward to monitor his condition for 2-3 hours. If no problems arise at this stage, painkillers are prescribed in the form of tablets or intramuscular injections (analgin, ketanov, paracetamol), after which you can go home.

Possible complications and side effects

The most formidable negative consequence of local anesthesia, which everyone has ever heard of, is an allergic reaction leading to the development of Quincke's edema and anaphylactic shock, which directly threaten the patient's life. Fortunately, this happens extremely rarely - about 1 problem case per 15,000 successful operations (0.01%), which even according to the strict canons of aesthetic surgery is considered a relatively acceptable risk.

In order to completely eliminate the likelihood of such negative reactions, the surgeon or anesthetist, firstly, carefully examines the patient’s health status and individual characteristics before the operation, and secondly, they can conduct additional sensitivity tests to those drugs that are supposed to be used for pain relief. Even if it turns out that one or more of them do cause allergies, it is almost always possible to find a safe replacement for them. Normally, such a test is carried out only if there are any reasonable concerns, but it is also possible simply at the request of the patient. Other side effects of local anesthesia include:

Possible problems with spontaneous breathing - they threaten only patients with serious pathologies of the respiratory function, as a rule, local anesthetics are contraindicated for them in principle.
Vessel puncture: manifested by a burning sensation that occurs during an anesthetic injection, a slight swelling and redness, in the future a bruise may form in this place.
Other problems associated with injections as a method of delivering painkillers into the body: infection, hematomas, increased swelling. But in the vast majority of cases, these “side effects” do not pose a serious danger and do not require any special attention against the background of the main consequences of the surgical blepharoplasty.

What to remember

The choice between general and local anesthesia for blepharoplasty is made depending on the scope of the operation, which pair of eyelids - upper or lower - is being worked on, as well as the individual characteristics of the patient. Your wishes regarding anesthesia can be discussed at the consultation, but the final decision is made by the surgeon based on his professional knowledge. Wherein:

The final quality of the operation and its aesthetic effect does not depend in any way on which of the options will be used.
Under local anesthesia, discomfort is partially preserved. In addition, it can be psychologically difficult to look at the work of a surgeon while conscious, and it is impossible to visually fence off the surgical field (eyelid area) from the patient. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, additional sedatives are also used - orally or intravenously.
Even if you cannot do without general anesthesia, you should not panic once again. Most of the information about its severity dates back to the end of the last century and is very outdated: modern drugs provide restful sleep, minimal risk of complications, as well as a vigorous, healthy state upon awakening - without nausea, dizziness and other unpleasant symptoms.

Expert opinions:

I try not to do blepharoplasty under local anesthesia, only in rare cases when there is not a lot of work - for example, if you need to remove part of the skin without going deep into the deep layers of tissues, hernia.

Plastic surgeon, candidate of medical sciences

This type of anesthesia is used, first of all, if a small amount of surgical intervention is planned. At the same time, I always take into account the wishes of the patient, his emotional background and physiological reactions to stress. Naturally, the decision in favor of local anesthesia is also made in case of contraindications to general anesthesia. In general, the choice of anesthesia method depends on a number of factors:

volume and duration of the proposed operation;
the physical condition of the patient and his age;
psycho-emotional state;
the presence of allergic reactions, etc.

Both options have their pros and cons. The most important thing is to be sure to proceed from the characteristics of a particular patient.

Plastic surgeon, MD

Any blepharoplasty can be performed under local anesthesia. Its advantages are that the patient is always fully conscious and can go home immediately after the operation. Disadvantages: since all manipulations are carried out near the eyeball, for some it gives a very unpleasant sensation. As a rule, men prefer general anesthesia, while women prefer local anesthesia.