Anesthesia for S-Lifts

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Dr. Michael Walker from Hill Country Facial Plastic Surgery Center and on behalf of Expert Village we'll be talking about S-lifts today. What kind of anesthesia is used? Nearly all these are done under local anesthesia with some sedation. It can be done under a general anesthesia, but there's increased risk of nausea and patients are slower to wake up with a general anesthetic. So, most patients prefer to use iv sedation and local because they're usually awake within forty-five minutes and can usually walk out of the office within an hour after the procedure is finished. How much does one bruise from the procedure? My experience has been that patients bruise very little from this procedure because there's such a minor dissection performed around the ear. It's not nearly as extensive as a face lift where sometimes the dissection is carried under the neck and halfway to the corner of the mouth. So, bruising and swelling are minimized with the S-lift.