What Type of Anesthesia is Best for Blepharoplasty?
Blepharoplasty or cosmetic eyelid surgery can be performed under local anesthesia, local
anesthesia with intravenous sedation and general anesthesia.
With local anesthesia, the area to be operated on is made numb with a local anesthetic injection.
You are fully awake and aware of the procedure.
With local anesthesia with intravenous sedation, you are given intravenous or “through the
vein” medication which creates a relaxing effect so you are in a twilight or sleepy
state and you’re less aware of your surroundings.
In general anesthesia, you are placed in a very deep state where you are placed on a
respirator with a tube in your throat because you’re unable to breathe on your own.
So which anesthesia is best?
As a practicing Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon for over 20 years, I’ve performed eyelid
surgery with all these anesthesia methods.
In my opinion, the best kind of anesthesia is local anesthesia with intravenous or through
the vein sedation.
We use this method every day in our practice and our patients benefit from a comfortable
procedure with a quick recovery.
This is in contrast to the awareness of pure local anesthesia which can cause many people
to be anxious and the risks and longer recovery associated with general anesthesia.