One major by-product of the aging baby-boom generation has been a surging
interest in cosmetic surgery. Outpatient cosmetic surgery clinics have
sprouted up in droves all over the United States, and the number of cosmetic
procedures performed in 2005 increased by more than 95% from the previous
year.Although procedures like facelifts and abdominoplasties are considered
minimally invasive, the anesthetic protocols and regimens involved are
often overly complex and unnecessarily toxic. Major complications involving
anesthesia in this (and any other) surgical milieu can range from severe
postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) to postoperative pain to mortality.
Although mortality may be rare, there have been many cases in which
perfectly healthy cosmetic surgery patients require emergency intervention
due to a severe complication involving anesthesia. In recent years, many new
anesthetic protocols have been developed to reduce the incidence of PONV
and other complications, while ensuring that effective pain management