Abdominoplasty with procedural sedation and analgesia

The ability to perform abdominal cosmetic surgery in the ambulatory setting provides a more comfortable environment for the patient, ease of scheduling for the physician, and decreased costs. Avoiding the use of general anesthesia allows for quicker recovery, shorter length of hospital stay, and decreased rate of postoperative complications. The authors report 106 consecutive abdominoplasties, including fascial plication when indicated, using local anesthesia, with procedural sedation and analgesia. All procedures were performed with an anesthesiologist providing intraoperative monitoring of the patients. Their protocol uses procedural sedation and analgesia, which results in a depressed level of consciousness, but allows the patient to maintain airway control independently and continuously. The results of this approach were measured in terms of procedure time, length of hospital stay, rate of complications, total recovery time, and the level of patient satisfaction. Between January 1996 and January 1999, 106 patients underwent abdominoplasty (performed by one of the authors) under local anesthesia with procedural sedation and analgesia. All patients had an American Society of Anesthesiologists status of 1 to 3, and underwent a full abdominoplasty, including fascial plication. In 26% of the patients, allied procedures were also performed, most commonly liposuction or augmentation mammaplasty. The mean age in this series was 45 years, and all patients were available for follow-up at least 1 year after surgery. The mean operative time was 135 minutes, recovery room time was 68 minutes, and all patients were ambulatory. There were no surgical complications, including flap loss or wound dehiscence, and no complications related to anesthesia (cardiac, deep vein thrombosis, fat emboli, pulmonary embolism, etc.). Because paralytic agents were not used, none of the patients required catheterization postoperatively. Patients were generally pleased with the results of surgery. Although the extent of the surgery remains the same, this approach provided patients with an easier postoperative experience. In summary, abdominoplasty, including full fascial plication of the rectus and external oblique aponeurosis, can be performed safely and comfortably under local anesthesia with procedural sedation and analgesia. Patients are comfortable, recover quickly, and are very satisfied with their surgical result and overall experience.