Understanding the Difference: General Anaesthesia vs. Sedation in Cosmetic Surgery

We often get questions about this, so let’s delve into the distinctions between two common anaesthesia types used in cosmetic surgery: general anaesthesia (GA) and sedation. At Cosmetic Surgery Zurich, we prioritize your safety and comfort throughout the entire surgical process, over any aesthetic goal. And as you embark on your journey towards transformation, it’s crucial to know everything there’s to know about your procedure!

General Anaesthesia: Zzzzzzzz

GA is like a deep sleep induced by a combination of medications (mainly Propofol) administered through an intravenous cannula. Under GA, you’ll be completely unconscious, not having any sensations throughout the procedure. This state of unconsciousness allows our skilled surgeons to perform delicate cosmetic surgeries with precision and efficiency, without any discomfort, awareness or movement on your part.

Interestingly, even though you won’t feel any pain, the existence of pain during surgery causes your body stress. Imposing a burden on your heart and circulation, breathing and metabolism. That’s why in addition to Propofol, the anaesthesiologist will also give you pain relief during the operation. Plus, to reduce your pain both during and after surgery, we apply local anaesthesia to the area where we operate.

Benefits of GA in Cosmetic Surgery

• Complete comfort for you: you’ll be blissfully unaware of the surgery, experiencing no pain or anxiety during the procedure.
• Complete comfort for the surgeon: knowing you are completely comfortable while not moving one single millimetre, enables the surgeon to perform delicate procedures with ease and precision, making procedures easier, safer, quicker.
• Ideal for extensive procedures: because you don’t feel pain and are completely comfortable GA facilitates more extensive surgeries that require longer.
• Controlled Breathing: your breathing (and all other vital functions) is carefully monitored and regulated by the anaesthesiologist, securing maximum oxygen levels for your vital organs.

Sedation: A Mild Slumber with Conscious Awareness

Sedation, also known as twilight anaesthesia or conscious sedation, involves administering medications (also mainly Propofol) to induce a state of relaxation and drowsiness while maintaining consciousness. Unlike GA, where you’re fully unconscious, sedation allows you to remain responsive to verbal cues and stimuli during the surgery, albeit in a tranquilized state. It often induces short-term memory loss, resulting in a hazy recollection of the surgical experience. Additionally you’ll receive local anaesthesia to numb the surgical site, aiming for minimal discomfort.

Benefits of Sedation in Cosmetic Surgery

• Lower dose of Propofol: as less Propofol is used for sedation than for GA, you theoretically recover quicker with fewer side effects such as grogginess or nausea, after the surgery.
• Suitable for minor procedures: sedation can be a good option in less invasive cosmetic procedures or those of shorter duration.
• Spontaneous breathing: because you remain conscious, you will breath on your own.

Now here’s the problem; some surgeons think they don’t need an anaesthesiologist to administer sedation. Meaning they operate AND look after the patient’s sedation at the same time. And that’s what makes it very risky! Propofol needs to be carefully titrated to find the balance between state of relaxation and drowsiness on one side and maintaining consciousness and adequate breathing on the other. This balance sometimes is difficult in experienced hands, let alone in the hands of a surgeon who’s not trained in this field and should be focused on operating. Every year severe complications happen because of this, perhaps not in a country like Switzerland, but definitely in countries around us.

Another problem is, note how it says ‘sedation can be a good option in less invasive cosmetic procedures or those of shorter duration’? But exactly those can often be done in local anaesthesia! For example, upper eyelid correction, scar correction, labia correction, a small liposuction. Any operation bigger than these, like a breast augmentation for example, is too painful and too uncomfortable with sedation and should in our opinion only be done in GA.

Anno 2024 anaesthesia is very safe

Regardless of the anaesthesia type chosen, rest assured that your safety and well-being remain our utmost priority. Where we operate, the state-of-the-art operating facility Operationszentrum Wetzikon, is equipped with advanced monitoring technology and staffed by skilled anaesthesiologists and specialised nurses who vigilantly oversee your vital signs and physiological parameters throughout the surgery and afterwards, ensuring a smooth and secure experience from start to finish. Meaning after your operation you’ll be ready to leave the clinic shortly after breakfast! You can read more about our (very sympathetic) anaesthesiologists at www.hypnocare.ch

Please be aware, we’re talking about cosmetic operations here. Every type of operation is different, and there are many types of operations where GA needs to be more complex, with subsequently more side-effects. Did we leave anything out? Feel free to ask us anything. Make sure you watch our informative videos on our Youtube channel and Instagram on this topic.

See you soon in our practice and wishing you all a beautiful day,

Dr. med. Dr. Phil. Annemarie Nijboer
Cosmetic surgeon
Certified High Performance Coach

Dr. med. Michael Wolfgang Payne
Plastic and aesthetic surgeon
Certified High Performance Coach