Conscious Sedation
Learn about our conscious sedation techniques at Parfitt Facial Cosmetic Surgery. Serving Madison and Appleton, WI, we provide safe, comfortable sedation options to minimize discomfort and enhance your surgical experience under Dr. Parfitt’s expert care.
Understanding Conscious Sedation
One of the many benefits of choosing Dr. Parfitt’s private surgical center is the use of Conscious Sedation (also known as ‘Twilight Sedation’ or ‘IV Sedation’) instead of General Anesthesia for your facial plastic surgery procedure.
*This type of sedation is what is used in Colonoscopy procedures.
It is a common assumption that being ‘totally under’ using General Anesthesia guarantees a better patient experience, whereas you may feel something under Conscious Sedation. This is not so. Under General Anesthesia, a patient may feel pain or be conscious enough to register comments, but cannot respond because of the breathing tube and paralysis. Under Conscious Sedation, there are levels of sedation the patient goes through before becoming fully conscious. Because the patients are able to breathe and move on their own, the surgeon is aware of any oncoming discomfort and can adjust anesthesia levels before the patient becomes aware of it.
General Anesthesia
With General Anesthesia the surgical patient is completely paralyzed, and does not have any awareness of their surroundings. Although, in the majority of cases, the patient can be guaranteed not to remember any part of the surgery, General Anesthesia has many disadvantages.
Disadvantages of General Anesthesia
Conscious Sedation Has Distinct Advantages Over General Anesthesia:
Conscious Sedation
Patients under Conscious Sedation are in a state of light sleep during the entire procedure, but are not fully unconscious and can therefore breathe on their own. The sedation medication is delivered via an IV in the hand/arm and the surgical area is then numbed with local anesthetic injections. The sedation creates a state of relaxation and amnesia so that the patient usually does not remember the procedure later on. This is a state somewhere between wakefulness and complete unconsciousness.
Because the anesthetic agents allow for rapid affect both in creating sedation and allowing for rapid awakening, the patient’s levels of consciousness can be varied throughout the procedure. There is a continuous process of adjusting the dose of anesthesia and monitoring the patient’s response. The patient may be conscious enough to hear and respond to directions from the surgeon – for instance, to turn one’s head in one direction or the other. Many of the drugs used in Conscious Sedation are the same drugs used for general anesthesia; however the dosages are much lower, thereby causing fewer unwanted side effects.
Our Locations in Wisconsin!
DATE: Monday, September 15th
TIME: 5:30 – 7 PM
LOCATION: 2261 Deming Way, Middleton
Schedule a Consultation
Facial plastic surgery with Dr. Richard Parfitt can make it possible to correct many undesirable facial features that can often undermine one’s self-esteem and self-confidence. If you would like more information or are interested in a facial cosmetic procedure, schedule a consultation today with Dr. Parfitt at one of our Wisconsin office locations in Madison or Appleton by calling (888) 389-3223.
