Is Anesthesia for Breast Augmentation Surgery Safe?
Many patients who come to see me are very excited about the possibility of breast augmentation, but they are scared of the anesthesia. Complications can occur, but they are extremely rare. Risks of general anesthesia include:
- Breathing problems with possible risk for pneumonia after surgery
- Allergic reaction
- Increased or decreased blood pressure
- Damage to teeth and lips
- Sore throat, hoarseness
- Heart attack or stroke (rare)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Malignant hyperthermia (a rare genetic disorder in which the body can’t process certain types of anesthesia properly – this can make anesthesia very dangerous if signs and symptoms are not identified early)
- Death (About one in 250,000 people die from complications of general anesthesia. The risks are greater for those people with serious medical conditions).
Anesthesia has made many advances in the last few decades, it’s extremely safe as long as you are monitored very closely during surgery by experienced anesthesia providers. You should make sure that your anesthesia is administered by an anesthesiologist (a physician specially trained in anesthesia) or by a nurse anesthetist (also called CRNA). I only perform surgery in fully-accredited operating rooms so that qualified anesthesia personnel are used, and surgery is as safe as possible.