Do I Need General Anesthesia For A Rhinoplasty And Chin Reduction?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Hello! I spoke to you all a while back about considering plastic surgery. I was very pleased with the results of the face prediction and your wonderful, fast replies. However, I have just a few questions: 

1. How would I schedule an in person consultation? I would be coming from way across the country and I am willing to fly out to Indiana. The online Skype consultation will not really work because the internet is quite slow where I live and I am worried it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth. Therefore, I’d be more comfortable with an in-person consultation. 

2. What is the estimated recovery time for Chin Reduction surgery and Rhinoplasty? Would I have to stay in Indiana for a certain amount of time? Are we talking days, or perhaps weeks? 

3. I would be unconscious during the surgery, right? So, do you guys have a licensed anesthesiologist at all of your locations? 

4. I see that you have multiple offices to choose from. Which office location would be the best for me and my procedure? 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, and thank you all for your hard work.

A: In answer to your questions about rhinoplasty and chin reduction:

  1. An in person consultation can be arranged at your convenience. I will have my assistant Camille contact you next week to make those arrangements.
  2. The concept of recovery after any surgery can mean various things to different people. But to use a simple endpoint of being able to do most functions and looking only moderately swollen, think 10 to 14 days. You should be able to return home in a few days after surgery.
  3. Rhinoplasty and chin reduction surgery requires a general anesthetic to be both completely comfortable during surgery and to allow the best extent of the surgeries to be done.While I operate at multiple hospitals, aesthetic procedures are done at my private surgery center which is both AAAHC certified and staffed with board-certified anesthesiologists.
  4. At stated in #3 above, there is only one aesthetic surgery center at which I operate.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana