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Day of Surgery
What to Expect The Day of Your Breast Augmentation
After reading this page, be sure to visit Tips for Speeding Your Recovery to learn how to reduce your pain and speed your recovery.
Anesthesia
Your breast augmentation procedure will most likely be performed under general anesthesia, but not always. Some plastic surgeons can capably perform breast augmentation under sedation anesthesia, but be sure to ask about your doctor's experience with this. It is important to ask what methods will be used to keep you comfortable during surgery.
For plastic surgeons that offer sedation anesthesia, there are some concerns to be aware of. In some cases, these plastic surgeons are using so much sedation that it is actually safer to use general anesthesia. Sometimes doctors will use sedation anesthesia because their office is not approved for general anesthesia. In some of these cases, there may be difficulty achieving adequate comfort for you, and this means you could endure pain during the breast augmentation procedure.
Location of operation
Your procedure may be performed in your plastic surgeon's private operating room, at a nearby hospital or a surgery center. If performed in your plastic surgeon's office, be sure to ask whether the office is certified and by whom.
Length of surgery
The actual procedure takes 1-1 1/2 hours. However, the length of time you will be in the operating room will be longer.
Once you are transferred to the operating room, it takes awhile to get you ready for surgery. You will have monitors placed then sedated or put to sleep. You will then be "prepped" which means your skin will be carefully cleansed to rid it of normal skin bacteria. Drapes will be placed around your body and the surgical "field" will be set up. The breast augmentation surgery will then begin.
After your procedure is over, your skin will again be cleaned and a dressing will be applied. Once you've awakened and are stable, you will be transported to the recovery room. For these reasons, your procedure could be scheduled for anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours.
Length of stay
In most cases, you will be allowed to go home the day of surgery.
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