General VS Local Anesthesia
One of the most important safety factors to consider when choosing a liposuction technique for you is whether you will utilize General of Local Anesthesia! There are supporters of both methods but here we will try to make an impartial approach of these two methods and describe their pros and cons:
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General Anesthesia
Pros
General anesthesia itself may have advantages and drawbacks! General Anesthesia makes it easier to treat large areas and remove larger amounts of fat. General anesthesia also makes it possible to treat multiple parts of the body at once. This means you can theoretically have a number of liposuction procedures or other cosmetic procedures performed at the same time. With local anesthesia this isn’t possible since you can anesthetize only a specific body area.
Cons
While at first treating larger areas might sound like a good thing, it can raise the temptation to remove more fat than is good for the body in a single day. And while it may seem convenient in terms of time and money to have multiple liposuction procedures performed at the same time, this does pose more serious risks for complications than spreading procedures out over a longer time period. Besides general anesthesia poses risks on its own. As a systemic drug, it may pose risks to your respiratory system. The drugs that are usually used include narcotics such as meperidine or fentanyl, or other drugs such as propofol, midazolam, or ketamine.
Local Anesthesia
Pros
Local anesthesia is preferable to many surgeons when there is a choice for multiple reasons. Actually local anesthesia is safer in general for the reasons mentioned above, when speaking about the general anesthesia cons! Local Anesthesia is less likely to cause respiratory issues or other similar complications. Besides surgeons know that if they use local anesthesia, they aren’t going to be able to fall into the temptation of performing too many surgeries at once or removing much fat. The other is that you get to remain conscious through your procedure. Depending on your feelings about this matter, this could be a positive or a negative, but remember it gives you the ability to communicate with the surgeon, and it’s also one less thing to have to go through on the day of your surgery. Local anesthetics are perfectly sufficient for most patients since they will remove the sensation of pain. Liposuction does not involve a lot of cutting, and should not be a particularly traumatic procedure to experience while you are awake.
Cons
While local anesthesia is safer overall than general anesthesia, you should take note that surgeons need to be specifically trained to administer local anesthesia while doing tumescent liposuction in order to do so safely and effectively. Many surgeons do not have this training, and will resort to general anesthesia since they do not have to be precise with the local anesthesia if the patient is unconscious. Anesthesiologists typically aren’t trained to do local anesthesia only for tumescent liposuction either. So if you’re going with local anesthesia only, make sure you have a surgeon who is trained and qualified to do this kind of procedure.
When you decide on the process you will follow you should definitely take into consideration the above factors and decide responsibly!
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