Gynecomastia Surgery & Anesthesia
If you read many blogs written by people considering aesthetic plastic surgery, you’ll see that quite a few have the idea that going under general anesthesia is a process that causes endless retching as well as a two-day hangover.
That may have been the case many years ago, but the world of sedation anesthesia now used in plastic surgery is more kind and gentle, thanks to a product you have perhaps read about.
That product, Propofol (trade name: Diprivan) used in the right hands and right places – specifically, used by an anesthesiologist M.D. or nurse anesthetist in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center – is a wonderful and unique anesthetic drug that has revolutionized office-based surgery.
Nonetheless, Propofol was abused in connection with the unfortunate death of Michael Jackson who called it “his milk” due to its milky white color.
That does not mean Propofol is safe to use at home, away from monitoring equipment and emergency equipment and, most especially, in hands not specifically trained in its use.
If we are to believe news reports, Propofol was used to lull Michael Jackson to sleep every night at his home.
But the drug was never intended nor designed for that use. Moreover, we don’t know how large the doses were nor how often they were administered.
(Side note: medical treatment in the absence of records is malpractice.)
Propofol is known as an hypnotic because it quickly induces sleep and then allows for a very fast recovery after cosmetic surgery with virtually no hangover, nausea, grogginess, sore throat or other undesirable side effects.
Among anesthetic drugs, Propofol is remarkable for clearing itself from the body extremely rapidly.
I commonly use it in my office, along with some other small doses of carefully selected medications. For gynecomastia surgery and other plastic surgery procedures, Propofol is administered by an anesthesiologist with whom I have worked for the last two decades.
Patients virtually always go into a relaxed sleep and have no memory of the procedure, experience no pain and gently wake up just as I’m placing the last stitch. Usually, the patient pleasantly chats with me as the bandages are being placed.
So if you have read about the circumstances of Michael Jackson’s case, don’t conclude Propofol is dangerous for use in an upcoming surgery.
In the right hands and setting, this drug works wonders!