Awake surgeries are an exciting, relatively new branch of plastic surgery where a patient is placed under local anesthesia at the surgical site rather than general anesthesia for the whole body. Below we have your guide to an awake brow lift surgery.
Your Guide to an Awake Brow Lift Surgery
The possible cascade of benefits from this difference can be quite enormous, filtering down from every element of the process. This is true from the recovery period to the actual surgery experience itself.
If you’re considering undergoing awake brow lift surgery, or any surgical brow lift near you, then consider reading over the following information, which will act as a guide for you while you make choices surrounding the process.
Brow Lift Basics
A brow lift is a surgery intended to tighten the upper skin of the forehead above the eyes, giving the patient a revitalized and rejuvenated appearance.
Patients come seeking brow lifts for a number of reasons, from aesthetic goals to one’s based on some of the mild medical problems that can arise from some of the medical issues surrounding the upper regions of the face.
Traditional brow lifts involve placing the patient under general anesthesia, even though only a small portion of the body is being operated on.
An awake facelift follows up on this logic by only applying local anesthesia to the surgical site, which has the potential to be a much more efficient operation while producing many of the same outcomes.
Who Makes a Good Candidate for A Brow Lift
Many people qualify for brow lift operations. This is because, overall, the procedure is not considered to be one of the more dangerous operations available since it involves very few vital organs.
Some of the preliminary basics for brow lift candidates are that they are in good general health, are a nonsmoker, and have a realistic set of goals surrounding their procedure.
During your pre-surgical consultation, you’ll discuss with your physician some of the unique characteristics of your personal situation. Through this, you and them will continue to craft a great surgical plan fit to your needs.
Preparing For an Awake Brow Lift
Preparing for an awake brow lift can look like a lot of different things depending on your unique situation.
Some of these things include:
- Quitting smoking at least six weeks before the surgery.
- Limiting alcohol consumption
- Limit your intake of medications that affect your blood flow, such as aspirin
- Make preparations for your post-surgery recovery period
You’ll also want to discuss with your doctor any concerns that you might have on a personal level, as well as go over your personal medical history or history of surgeries.
Your Pre-Surgical Consultation
The Pre-surgical consultation is perhaps the most important part of your operation and where you’ll have the greatest chance to guide your own surgical experience. This comes through discussing all of the elements of your surgery with your physician.
In the consultation, you’ll go over everything from your personal medical history to your history of surgeries.
You’ll also talk about any medications or supplements that you take in order to give your physician a better idea of the kinds of preparations that you need to undergo to prepare yourself for surgery.
On your part, your consultation is your opportunity to field any questions or concerns that you may have towards your physician in order to truly specify the kinds of issues that might be relevant to you.
Why Avoid General Anesthesia?
For patients suffering lengthy, painful incisions into the vital organs as part of extensive, invasive procedures, general anesthesia is a must.
However, there are a number of benefits to forgoing general anesthesia in circumstances where it is not strictly necessary. This is due to the fact that it may include several inhibitory components, especially for patients with certain underlying health issues.
Since the anesthesia itself might be harmful to individuals who suffer from certain chronic health issues, some patients are frequently ineligible for surgeries that call for general anesthesia. Some of these things include
Diabetes, Heart Disease, Kidney Issues, Sleep Apnea, and other prevalent medical issues
Awake techniques also often use fewer medicines during the actual surgery as well as during the healing process. Drug use less frequently has the potential to result in a quicker recovery time because most medications have possible negative effects.
The use of general anesthesia can result in surgery being substantially more expensive overall because it is one of the more costly aspects of the treatment.
Health Problems Associated with General Anesthesia
Unfortunately, general anesthesia has its own unique set of potential health issues. Depending on your medical history, some of these risks can be prohibitive.
General anesthesia carries a number of health hazards, such as:
- Memory loss
- Blood clots
- Heart problems
- Heart attacks
Patients who anticipate potential issues from undergoing general anesthesia should seriously consider an awake operation as an alternative because, usually speaking, it can deliver identical results to a surgery that uses general anesthesia.
The Awake Brow Lift Timeline
Generally speaking, a brow lift can wrap up for most patients within 2-3 hours, give or take some small amount of time.
In the awake procedure, you’ll only receive anesthetic on the surgical site. Once we numb this area, the surgeon will arrange tissues, muscles, and organs to create a more youthful appearance.
Once the surgery is complete, you’ll have to set aside time in life for a recovery period, which in an awake procedure will likely be less intense than in a traditional brow lift.
Faster Recovery Times
Another thing you can anticipate with an awake operation is a substantially faster recovery time from your procedure.
This is because one of the more exacerbating factors for a patient’s recovery time is the recovery from the anesthetic experience.
General anesthesia can be very taxing and stressful on the system, which can lead to the patient having to arrange for longer times off of work and other inconveniences.
When using only local anesthesia, only the part of the body employed on remains affected. In a brow lift, this means that the primary vital organs of the body do not have effects of anesthesia, which shortens the overall recovery time.
Limiting the Use of Post-Operative Drugs
Narcotics usually find less use during the recovery phase following awake surgery. Depending on the patient’s medical history, there is another aspect of awake surgery that may be beneficial.
This is due to the fact that an awake surgery requires a less prolonged and intensive recovery phase.
Patients who have a history of addiction or painkiller usage issues may probably feel more at ease having revision surgery while they are awake. This is because there is a lesser possibility of being exposed to a relapse scenario.
Less Scarring
Using local anesthetic during surgery rather than general anesthesia can result in less scarring after the procedure, in addition to reduced bruising and swelling.
This is because applying local anesthetic results in reduced bleeding since the chemicals in anesthetics alter blood flow.
Due to the fact that local anesthetic puts less strain on the body, it also leads to a less painful recovery time. This may lead to a far more positive patient evaluation.
Planning Your Postoperative Recovery Period
Just as important as your pre-surgical consultation is planning your recovery period.
Although the recovery period for an awake brow lift is significantly shorter than for a traditional brow lift, you’ll still have to set aside some time to make sure that your physique recuperates from the stresses of the surgical experience.
Some of the precautions that you’ll want to take include arranging for pet care, child care, and arranging for time off of work.
Seek Out Board-Certified Surgeons
You should always make sure that your surgery is conducted by board-certified plastic surgeons to guarantee that it goes as you would like and that you are receiving quality care from a competent specialist.
This is in reference to the American Board of Plastic Surgery, or ABPS, which thoroughly examines candidates in accordance with a number of rigid standards.
This is to guarantee that they are deemed qualified to handle the delicate and challenging work of surgery by a jury of their qualified peers.
Many patients who come to seek out revision surgeries do so because their initial surgeries were performed by physicians who are not board certified.
To avoid these costly and inconvenient hurdles, ensure that your physician is board certified by performing some research on their qualifications.
If you’re able to, also aim to ensure that your physician is a specialist in the field of brow surgeries or at least a specialist in the realm of eye surgeries in general. This will give you peace of mind as the surgery progresses.
Giving the Highest Quality Service Available
Dr. Christopher Zoumalan and his award-winning team routinely serve the Beverly Hills area with the best surgeries available. If you find yourself interested in scheduling a consultation to discuss whether or not an awake eyelid surgery would work for you, then take a visit to our website. There you can learn for more information on why Dr. Zoumalan remains considered a leading eyelid surgeon.
