Anesthesia in Liposuction Surgery

Abstract

Three types of anesthesia, local, general, or intravenous sedation, are available for patients undergoing liposuction. The tumescent technique surpassed all other methods of suction-assisted lipectomy in reduction of blood loss and may be used with local, general, or intravenous anesthesia. The difficulties associated with each type of anesthesia include lenghthiness of the procedure under local, the longer recovery time with general anesthesia, and the risks of intravenous medications and general anesthesia. After the difficulties are discussed with the patient, the patient makes the choice of the type of anesthesia to be administered. The author prefers the use of general anesthesia because it allows the tumescent technique to be performed quickly and efficiently.