Can Tummy Tuck Be Done Without General Anesthesia?

Tummy tucks can be done under a variety of types of anesthesia. I feel it is most dependent on the experience and expertise of your anesthestist. In my office operating room suite in Naples, Florida, my CRNA is extremely good at providing an epidural and light IV sedation to make the procedure very comfortable for most patients. Many of my tummy tuck patients have had epidurals with the birth of their children so they are aware of its benefits. The epidural in the setting of the... more

Yes, a tummy tuck can be done with epidural anesthesia or simple local anesthetic with IV sedation. The anesthetic choice depends on what your surgeon is comfortable with. If the planned case is extensive, it may be more efficient to do it with general anesthesia to reduce your risks for toxicity related to the local anesthetic. The best approach is to discuss other options with your surgeon and ultimately the anesthia provider that will be doing your case. There are risks to every type... more

There are many forms of anaesthesia available - local, regional such as spinal or epidural, sedation or twilight, and general where you are completely spleep. The type of anaethesia used for each procedure will depend on the extent of the surgery - invasiveness and length of surgery, your medical history and preferences as well as the surgeon's experience and preferences along with the type of anaesthesiologist available. A tummy tuck is a very involved and complex procedure that is... more

BECAREFUL!!!!! You are asking to get into problems. Surgeons who advertise that they do abdominoplasty under local anesthesia are usually not surgeons and definitely not plastic surgeons. So you need to ask the surgeons credentials to see. There is no reason not to perform a tummy tuck under general anesthesia unless it is due to what I mentioned. It is safer and a better result can be obtained. Hope that helps.

Yes, abdominoplasty can be done under anesthesia other than general, but why? It is a large and involved procedure. It involves tissue supplied by multiple nerves so the area is hard to anesthetize well safely. In this case, general anesthesia is probably safer. One reason some surgeons use local anesthesia is that they do not have privileges at a facility where general anesthesia can be used. Therefore, always ask if the surgeon has privileges to do the procedure in a certified facility.... more

A full TT without general anesthesia would in my opinion be very tricky and risky. Toxic levels of local anesthesia would probably be required and a spinal that was high enough to provide true anesthesia might interfere with breathing. A mini-TT, on the other hand, could probably be performed with local or regional anesthesia and sedation.

Yes, it can.  It can be done under spinal anesthesia, but this is something you would have to discuss with the anesthesiologist invovled in your care.  Good luck! Dr. Singer

For most people an abdominoplasty is more comfortable with general anesthesia, however it certainly can be done without general anesthesia especially when you do not have muscle repair. Using local anesthesia you can be awake, other options include regional anesthesia techniques. It is best to determine what type of anesthesia is best for you individually with you physician and anesthesia provider.