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General anesthesia is one of the most commonly-used forms of anesthesia, but it also has a number of inherent risks that patients should be aware of before surgery. Read on to learn more about the potential complications that liposuction with general anesthesia may pose.
From your genetics and family history to your eating habits and current medications, the effects of general anesthesia are largely determined by external factors that are out of the surgeon’s control—which is less than ideal, considering that surgery needs to be performed under the control of the most optimal conditions possible.
Patients who opt to undergo extensive procedures and are advancing in age or have serious medical conditions have an increased likelihood of pneumonia, postoperative confusion, stroke, and heart attack under general anesthesia.
Other conditions that raise risk levels include smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heavy alcohol use, taking herbal medicines and certain vitamins, seizures, obstructive sleep apnea, and drug allergies. Medical conditions involving the heart, kidneys, or lungs also pose a greater risk, as well as having a history of adverse reactions to general anesthesia. If family members have had a negative reaction to anesthesia, you could be at risk for having the same reaction due to inheriting a genetic susceptibility to having the same or a similar dangerous reaction.
Finally, even eating at the wrong time of day before your surgery can have a serious, detrimental impact on your operation under general anesthesia. Patients who eat on the night before their surgery face the risk of vomiting while under anesthesia and breathe in their previously-eaten food, causing aspiration pneumonia and blocking life-sustaining oxygen from reaching the lungs. All of this is why liposuction under local anesthesia is preferable in almost every instance.
At Laser Lipo and Vein Center, Dr. Wright elects not to utilize general anesthesia because of the potentially fatal risks that can result from its use. Rather than leave things to chance with an operation performed under general anesthesia, we perform liposuction under local anesthesia. We’re more than happy to answer your questions regarding the details and risks of each procedure that we perform, as well as assist you in making an informed decision.
Contact our office today to schedule your consultation appointment and learn more about the options available at Laser Lipo and Veins!
