Awake Surgery

Fat transfer can be done awake, in our office surgical suite. For the right candidate, that is an excellent setting, without general anesthesia, and we work to keep you as comfortable as possible. We also perform liposuction, facial surgery and breast surgery using our awake techniques.

Awake surgery is more than a way to avoid general anesthesia — for many procedures, it gives Dr. Conkright more time to work artistically: sculpting, refining, and closely attending to your comfort throughout. It’s a relaxed setting, which is why it’s often the preferred approach for facial work. And because you remain awake, you can participate and interact during your own procedure — a technical advantage general anesthesia doesn’t allow.

Many, if not most, of our procedures can be done awake, under local anesthesia, in our office surgical suite, for selected candidates. Others are done under general anesthesia at an outpatient surgery center. The setting depends on patient selection and the procedure planned; there is no set way and no guarantee either way. It is determined with Dr. Conkright at your consultation.

For the right candidate, these procedures can often be performed awake, in our office surgical suite:

• Breast Augmentation
• Fat Transfer — face, breast, buttocks and more
• Liposuction
• Facial surgery

Whether your own procedure is a fit for the awake approach is always decided with Dr. Conkright, at your consultation.

• More time for artistry. The relaxed, awake setting gives Dr. Conkright more time to sculpt and refine — especially valued for facial work.
• You can participate, if you want to. Many times, patients can move and position themselves for Dr. Conkright and talk with him during the procedure about what he’s doing. In breast augmentation, patients can often see their implants before they go in; in fat transfer, they can actually see the fat, which is often very interesting to them. It isn’t always the case — but if you want to participate, you can.
• Attention to your comfort. We attend specifically to your comfort and work to keep you as comfortable as possible, because a comfortable and calm patient is a happy patient.
• No clock on your procedure. Operations vary, and awake procedures have no shut-off times or goal times — we can work as long as your procedure needs.
• Performed personally by Dr. Conkright, start to finish, in our own office surgical suite, without general anesthesia.
• Often a more affordable option. Awake procedures don’t require a separate surgical facility or anesthesia team, so they can cost less than the same procedure under general anesthesia. (For example, awake breast augmentation is $7,560 all-inclusive, versus $8,197.50 at an outpatient surgery center.)
• Private and personal, in our own suite rather than an outside facility.

Whether awake surgery is the right choice depends on your health, your goals, and the procedure you’re considering. Dr. Conkright reviews all of this with you personally at your consultation, and together you’ll decide the setting that’s right for your plan.