I am always trying to improve our patients’ experience before, during, and after surgery. As I’ve discussed with regard to breast augmentation many patients have a huge fear of general anesthesia. Because vaginal rejuvenation focuses on a very limited region of the body, the labia and vaginal tissues can easily be “numbed” or anesthetized locally while the patient is in a sedated state. The process is simple. Our anesthesia team will start an IV before surgery and administer sedation medications. Patients enter what we call a “dissociative state” whereby they are still breathing on their own (without breathing tubes or the assistance of a ventilator) but they do not feel pain. These sedative medications are short acting and the anesthesia provider can quickly awaken the patient when the procedure is complete. Once the sedative medications are on board I inject Xylocaine (lidocaine with epinephrine) into the tissues. With the tissue adequately anesthetized with lidocaine I can safely peform vaginal rejuvenation, labiaplasty, G-spot augmentation, clitoral hood reduction, episiotomy (perineal body) repair, and autologous fat grafting while the patient rests comfortably. If a patient specifically requests general anesthesia, or if vaginal rejuvenation is being combined with a larger procedure such as a tummy tuck or breast lift, then that can easily be arranged. Recovery after sedation/local procedures is quicker and easier; the patients return to normal activities more rapidly and they aren’t burdened with the “fog” of general anesthesia for 3-4 days.
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