What Type of Anesthesia is Required for a Labiaplasty?

Thank you very much for the question - The anesthesia for labiaplasty can vary. In our San Francisco office we can perform the procedure under local with oral sedation in our procedure room (probably the minimum most patients require) to full general anesthesia in an area hospital. The choice depends on patient preference and the amount of surgery that needs to be performed. This typically always an outpatient surgery (meaning you go home the same day). I hope this helps.

In a review of my patient experience, we have used local anesthesia with oral sedation in over 95% of cases. It is performed in a fully accredited surgical center. Local anesthesia is usually used, but sedation with local anesthesia is possible, and in rare instances, patients request general anesthesia (usually when performed with another procedure). The complication rate is extremely low. If you have a relatively sedate job, you can probably return to work in 5 days. Generally, patients... more

Virtually all of the labiaplasties I have done were performed as local anesthesia procedures only, but a few (very) anxious patients have requested intravenous sedation to ease their concerns. A well-trained board-certified plastic surgeon will be able to use local anesthesia with truly little discomfort to the patient, and being awake allows a much less costly procedure--typically one-third of the cost noted in the heading of this section. General anesthesia is certainly the least... more

Patients have individual preferences for anesthesia, but most choose local anesthesia since it has lower risks than general anesthesia, less down time, and quicker recovery.  It also keeps prices affordable.  It is almost always done as an outpatient unless there is a medical reason to be admitted to the hospital.

In our practice, I perform labiaplasty in our JCAHO-accredited private surgical suite.  I offer my patients the option to have local anesthesia (numbing medicine) or sedation (twilight).  Over 95% chose local anesthesia.  Most are usually nervous before the procedure.  Every single patient is pleasantly surprised to see how easy the procedure is under local anesthesia.  Obviously, for those who are extremely nervous or who don't want local anesthesia, we... more

The choice of anesthesia is dependent on many factors including the scope of the work and the patient's preferences although iv sedation is most common.

Labiaplasty is a surgical technique to reduce the amount of skin and mucosal tissue in the labia of a female patient. This is performed to rejuvenate the appearance of the labia and to improve the patient's comfort. Patients who have these conditions or are self-conscious about the appearance of their labia may be candidates for this procedure. This procedure may be performed under local anesthesia or regional anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. The type of anesthesia use... more

Most people tolerate sedation with some local anesthesia for labiaplasty very well.  The is about an hour recovery before many people fell good enough to go home.

Twilight anesthesia with a little local anesthesia is perfect for labiaplasty and is done as an outpatient - you do not have to stay in the hospital!

As the other surgeons have stated, this is a surgery that is usually done under local anesthesia and sedation ( oral or IV).  Rarely is general anesthesia needed, although there is the occasional patient who just cannot do this without being toatlly out.  For these patients, I just use some deeper sedation, but is still lighter than general anesthesia.

The anesthesia type will depend on you and your tolerence to the injection of local anesthetic into the labia. if you cannot tolerate it then Local anesthesia with Twilight sleep (SEDATION). You can also go to sleep completely if that is more comfortable to you.

Hi there- Most often we are able to perform Labiaplasty with a small dose of Valium and a combination of local anesthetics, in our in office minor procedure room. It is always done as an outpatient procedure and patients are usually ready to go home within 20 minutes of completing the procedure. 

Hello, Not all labiaplasty patients have the same extent of surgery. These cases vary quite a bit. A short general anesthetic is more comfortable and safe when done in a certified facility. Only really simple operations can be done without discomfort "down there" under local alone. When I first started doing labiaplasty nine years ago, I did them as oral sedation with local. Putting enough local to numb the area was painful for the patients. I will not do them like that again. more