Multiple Procedures At The Same Time

jone-rivers1 Do you think her surgeon thinks he did a good job?  Okay just a little humor and an ego boost for me knowing I’ve never done that!  But I digress, the real blog tonight is on multiple procedures and not like hers.  Many patients ask me about doing multiple procedures at the same time.   When I was first asked this I never understood why patients were so concerned but a little thought and time creates understanding.

In 4200 BC opiumwas used as the first anesthetic.  And since then anesthetics have been both revered and feared.  On the one hand they allow for tolerable surgery but on the other hand they are all, for the most part, depressants that in the wrong dose can cause death.  But this is 2009 and we live in a country with the best medical technology, training and medications on the planet.  So why the concern?  Years of misunderstanding.

It must be our parents, the media or others that have instilled in us the fear of general anesthesia.  Perhaps they knew of the dangers of inhaled anesthetics.  Heck the story of an ether explosion at Georgetown University Hospital killing the anesthesiologist and patient was legendary during my residency.  But the reality is that anesthesia in 2009 is incredibly safe.  I’ve been in 36 hour surgeries where the least concern was with the anesthesia.  In fact a patient who is under pharmicological sleep with a protected airway is the safest approach to surgery.  So I no longer think about the amount of time needed in surgery but rather the amount of time needed to achieve the best outcome.

It doesn’t matter if the surgery is an hour or 10 hours patients are totally safe.  This is another reason why I work exclusively in a hospital and not an out patient surgery center-Safety.  So if you would like to talk about multiple procedures or any cosmetic concern contact our office at 703.752.6608 or click here to set up your complementary consultation.

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