Our surgical team consists of only the best of the best. Dr Bovenzi and Dr Smith work with the same anesthetists on a regular basis. This way, we know you are receiving the highest quality care with team members that are involved with these procedures on a regular basis. For us, cosmetic facial surgeries are our bread and butter- the surgeons and anesthetists know each other’s routines like the back of their hand. While Dr Bovenzi and Dr Smith maintain privileges at multiple nearby hospitals, we have found that consistency brings safety- we don’t want you to worry about which anesthetist is on-call that day in the hospital setting. Here, we can provide consistent and safe anesthesia, surgery, and post-operative care while keeping all focus on you (not the numerous beeping monitors from other patients that you encounter in the hospital setting).
Our surgical center also has the highest certification available, being accredited by the AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care), which conducts a thorough review on a regular basis to confirm our facility is held to the highest standards.
The anesthesia offered at Smith Cosmetic Surgery Center allows you to have same-day surgery without having to stay overnight in a hospital while still ensuring you are asleep and feel no pain during your operation. In most cases, we employ Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC). This is similar to the twilight anesthesia you may have had during a colonoscopy though it is deeper so that you will not wake up until the surgery is completely over. This differs from general anesthesia because our technique does not require you to have a breathing tube or be on a ventilator. This saves you a lot of risk of any postoperative nausea or sore throat as well as allowing you to recover from the anesthetics more quickly.
The anesthesia given is through an IV placed the morning of your surgery. This IV is also used during your surgery and in the recovery room to administer medications. Other medications that are inhaled through a breathing tube have higher likelihood to cause nausea, which is just one reason we choose the more reliable method of IV sedation while having fewer side effects.
It is important when undergoing elective surgery that you have your health checked beforehand. For this reason, it is extremely important to be completely honest with our surgical team about your medical history, medications, supplements, alcohol, smoking, and substance use. Your answers are kept confidential as part of the doctor-patient relationship but there can be interactions with medications and anesthesia that are critical for us to know ahead of time. If you have any signs of illness leading up to your surgery, please call our office to let us know. Occasionally, surgery must be postponed to allow you to recover before undergoing anesthesia. Safety is our #1 priority. We will also routinely check bloodwork and an EKG to ensure your body is optimized for surgery. Occasionally, we may request medical clearance from your primary care doctor or specialist prior to surgery. In these circumstances, our office can help coordinate to ensure you are supported through the process.
After surgery is over, you will gently wake up in our recovery room where you are monitored to ensure your recovery is as smooth as possible. As you continue to awaken, our recovery nurses will go over all instructions with your caregiver and ensure all questions are answered. If there are any questions or concerns, you may call our office. After hours, the on call physician can be reached via the information on our phone answering service. In case of an emergency, call 911 immediately.
What about celebrity XYZ that had a terrible outcome while having plastic surgery?
In the vast majority of these rare and tragic cases, the patient is either not monitored correctly or there are no practitioners with advanced airway training available. Rest assured, you are under close continuous monitoring throughout your surgery and Drs Bovenzi and Smith have the highest training available for advanced airway management. In fact, throughout their careers, both surgeons have saved patients lives in the Emergency Room and hospital and were the go to doctors at Level 1 Trauma Centers for advanced airway management when nobody else in the hospital had those skills.
