Breast Surgery Anesthesia: The Misconception That an In-House Specialist Alone Means You're Safe
Hello — we are U&U Plastic Surgery, a clinic that performs breast surgery only.
You probably already know that breast augmentation is mostly performed under general anesthesia.
But precisely because general anesthesia is unfamiliar, it can feel frightening — you may even worry about waking up mid-surgery.
Anesthesiologists in charge of anesthesia at plastic surgery clinics fall broadly into two types:
- freelance anesthesiologists
- full-time, in-house anesthesiologists
So you may well be shortlisting clinics for consultation based on 'whether an anesthesiologist is in-house.'
For those readers, we are writing to share 2 cautions, drawn from 20 years of research devoted solely to breast surgery.
1. A clinic with an in-house anesthesiologist?
That does not necessarily mean
it is fully equipped
for pre-anesthesia testing.
Source
'In-house' can also describe someone who handles anesthesia only.
Blood tests / ECG / chest X-ray and so on —
even a clinic without pre-anesthesia testing equipment
can still claim an 'in-house' anesthesiologist
as long as one is on staff.
Source
Anesthesia is a process that directly affects blood pressure, breathing, and cardiac function.
It is safer when the medical staff involved in your pre-anesthesia testing also monitors you through the surgery and until discharge.
There is no current law stating that 'to hire an anesthesiologist, a clinic must have this level of anesthesia testing equipment.'
So please do not be reassured by the word 'in-house' alone — be sure to check whether the clinic is adequately equipped for anesthesia testing as well.
Pre-anesthesia testing equipment: ECG / blood tests
Pre-anesthesia testing equipment: chest X-ray
2. An in-house anesthesiologist?
There are still cases where that is not safe.
Source
Earlier, we said you should check whether anesthesia testing equipment is available.
But even with sufficient testing equipment, there are situations that carry risk:
when a single full-time anesthesiologist
has to cover every surgery in the clinic.
Breast surgery anesthesia
Suppose there are two clinics, A and B, as below.
Clinic A
- No daily surgery limit
- 5 plastic surgeons on staff
- All anesthesia in the clinic handled by 1 anesthesiologist
Clinic B
- Daily surgery limit in place
- 4 plastic surgeons
- All anesthesia in the clinic handled by 4 anesthesiologists
Which clinic's operating room
would you consider safer in terms of anesthesia?
Breast surgery anesthesia
Most likely Clinic B.
That is how much the staffing ratio of plastic surgeons to anesthesiologists matters.
Anesthesia involves not only 'pre-operative testing' and 'the surgery itself,' but also monitoring until discharge and constant readiness for emergency calls.
5th-floor breast surgery center
In addition to in-house status, we have discussed these two factors:
- whether pre-anesthesia testing equipment is available
- the anesthesiologist-to-plastic-surgeon staffing ratio
In reality, though, anesthesia tests are not the only tests done before breast surgery.
Breast ultrasound, biopsy, and other checks for breast disease are also needed for surgery to proceed safely.
Alongside anesthesia, we have put together a video summarizing the tests that should be done before breast surgery.
Once you know from the video which tests are needed, you will naturally find yourself checking whether a clinic has the relevant testing equipment.
That is everything we have prepared.
Finally, beyond anesthesia, we close by sharing what you should be sure to discuss in consultation if you are considering implant surgery.
[Free PDF]
A collection of breast surgery Q&As
from 2 years in mom-community forums
Source
For 2 years, we ran a Q&A on breast augmentation in mom-community forums.
We answered questions on breast surgery anesthesia, as well as questions from those weighing important life stages such as childbirth and pregnancy.
U&U Plastic Surgery currently keeps to a principle of 3 surgeries / 6 consultations per surgeon per day.
Since we cannot help everyone in person, we share online a selection of the Q&As we have answered.
[Free PDF] A collection of breast surgery Q&As from 2 years in mom-community forums
blog.naver.com
If you would like a consultation with us, please book through Naver Booking via the map below.
Thank you for reading this long article.
This has been U&U Plastic Surgery — a clinic that performs breast surgery only.
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U&U Plastic Surgery Clinic
Myungkwang Building, 819 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul