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General or Local Anesthesia for Erbium Laser Resurfacing?

asked 3 years ago by vegas21 in uk
Latest answer by Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, MD
Question viewed 1,706 times
Tags: anesthesia, local anesthesia

My consultant wants me to have a general anesthesia for full face ebrium laser treatment, but I would prefer to have local anesthesia for the treatment instead? How is the pain under local?

17 answers to General or Local Anesthesia for Erbium Laser Resurfacing?

General or Local Anesthesia for Erbium Laser Resurfacing?

This is a difficult question because there are many factors that only your physician knows. In general, I would go with the recommendation of your surgeon. If you feel you would rather have local anesthesia, speak to him about it and have him explain to you why you are not a good candidate for this. He actually may think that you prefer general and that is why he recommended it. If you don't like the answer, you are entitled to get other opinions. Laser... more

Sam Goldberger, MD
Beverly Hills Oculoplastic Surgeon

www.neweyelids.com

Anesthesia for Laser Resurfacing

The level of anesthesia required is dependent on the depth and agressiveness of the treatment. For full laser resurfacing utilizing an erbium laser general anesthesia is generally appropriate.

Kris M. Reddy, MD, FACS
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon

www.drkrisreddy.com

Anesthesia for Laser Resurfacing

Here is a brief outline of what anesthesia is needed for the different uses of the Erbium:YAG laser Microlaser peel- topical numbing cream, must be on for at least 30 minutes before starting Fractionated laser- topical for most, some people will need more sedation. Deep full-face laser peel- heavy IV sedation or general anesthesia with injected regional blocks I have done a deep laser peel on small segments (i.e. lips or around the eyes) with just injected... more

John Bitner, MD
Salt Lake City Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drjohnbitner.com

IV sedation has sufficed for all levels of laser treatment

Selection of anesthesia should be directed by the level and intensity of the laser treatment. For superficial treatments, topical anesthesia suffices. For medium to deeper treatments, often local nerve blocks with oral analgesics/sedatives or IV sedation is required. Depending upon one's pain threshold and anxiety level, a general anesthesia may be requested for patient's comfort. The only time I have utilized general anesthetic is if the patient is already under general... more

Peter Schmid, DO
Longmont Facial Plastic Surgeon

Erbium laser does not require general anesthesia.

I have performed thousands laser resurfacings, both CO2 and Erbium. I have not seen the need to use general anesthesia since the introduction of the fractional lasers. The most popular Erbium laser is the Fraxel Restore. It is a fractional laser and is easily done with a topical anesthetic in combination with oral sedation, typically Valium and Percocet. General anesthesia is simply not necessary and introduces excess risk and cost.

Susan Van Dyke, MD
Paradise Valley Dermatologist

www.vandykelaser.com

Laser resurfacing anesthesia

The choice of anesthesia for laser resurfacing of the face is very much dependent on your own pain tolerance. There are parts of the face which are easily numbed with local anesthesia like around the mouth and the forehead. The cheeks are harder to make numb and need more injections. Taking an oral pain pill before the procedure can help some also. General anesthesia is probably the most comfortable way to do it, but you can do it with local anesthesia or sedation... more

Josh Korman, MD
Monterey Plastic Surgeon

General or local anesthesia for full face erbium resurfacing

Most erbium resurfacing procedures can be done without general anesthesia, just by applying a topical anesthetic cream about an hour before the actual resurfacing. However, pain is a very subjective sensation, as people have different pain tolerance levels. The amount of pain with a procedure does depend on the depth of the resurfacing. The deeper the penetration of the laser, the more painful the procedure will be, as there are more nerves deeper in the skin. ... more

Emily Altman, MD
Short Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

Need more than just topical anesthesia for full face Erbium!

I do a lot of deep Erbium full face resurfacing. It is awesome and gives phenomenal results. The amount of anesthesia is proportion to the depth of the laser resurfacing. If the surgeon is doing a very shallow peel to just freshen up your skin, topical anesthesia is good enough. However, deep resurfacing to really regenerate new skin, collagen, etc will require deeper anesthesia. I recommend IV sedation with blocks. I don't think general anesthesia... more

Raghu Athre, MD
Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon

Pain-Free Laser Resurfacing

Erbium laser skin resurfacing can have dramatic results and can be done relatively pain free. There are actually 3 options: 1. General Anesthesia 2. Sedation 3. Local/topical anesthesia I only use general anesthesia if the patient is going to the operating room for something else at the same time (a facelift, for example). Sedation is a good option along with topical anesthesia, but not absolutely necessary. Often my patients will take a medication... more

Andrew Winkler, MD
Lone Tree Facial Plastic Surgeon

Anesthesia for laser resurfacing

Anesthesia requirements for laser resurfacing will depend on the type of laser used and the patient's pain tolerance. If the laser is fractionated, topical numbing medicine and possibly nerve blocks can be used to treat the face. General anesthesia is very rarely used but still an option if a patient has a low pain tolerance.

D.J. Verret, MD
Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

Laser Resurfacing and Anesthesia

The need for anesthesia is directly correlated with the aggressiveness of the treatment. I have used intravenous sedation for aggressive fractionated CO2 laser resurfacing, and have in the past used it for erbium laser resurfacing. General anesthesia (intubation) for laser resurfacing is probably overkill. For a micro-laser peel, topical anesthesia is sufficient. In the right patient, an moderately aggressive fractionated CO2 laser treatment can be... more

Stephen Prendiville, MD
Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drprendiville.com

Optimum anesthesia choice for laser resurfacing

Only in a rare instance would general anesthesia be required for a full face resurfacing, and highly unlikely to be needed for an erbium laser. In our practice we use anything from numbing cream, to nerve blocks +/- sedation. It all depends on the desired goals, laser setting parameters, etc. It takes knowledge and experience to design optimum resurfacing plan for each individual patient.

Boris M. Ackerman, MD
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

Excellent pain control for resurfacing

Older methods of resurfacing using flat-beam lasers did require general anesthesia. Today, even for aggressive fractionated carbon dioxide resurfacing, we use a combination of nerve blocks, pain medicines, topical anesthetics and a skin chiller (Zimmer). The erbium laser penetrates less deeply compared to the CO2 laser and this can be quite tolerable without going to the operating room, but is really based on the patient's tolerance. Finding a laser specialist who... more

Michael Howard Swann, MD
Springfield Dermatologic Surgeon

Full face Laser Resurfacing

Good question. I perform at least 5 resurfacing treatments each week. None of these are under a general anesthetic. Topical anesthetic cream plus local anesthetic with some sedation is usually all that is needed. Good Luck.

Robert F. Gray, MD
Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon

Topical anesthesia is adequate for fractional Erbium laser resurfacing and Microlaser Peel

Most laser resurfacing today is Fractional Non-ablative or Fractional Ablative laser resurfacing and topical anesthetic cream is all that is required. Agressive flat beam Erbium laser resurfcaing and fractional Ablative CO2 laser resurfacing are painful, and sedation and nerve blocks are usually required. General anesthesia is also acceptable, as nerve blocks can be distressing when they are injected. Modern combined non-ablative fractional 1540 Erbium and ablative fractional 2940 Erbium... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Full face erbium peel and anesthesia

Performing a full face erbium peel can be uncomfortable. It really depends upon how deep you go. For the deeper peels, I recommend sedation. Patients are more comfortable and the procedure can be done under good control.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Topical and Local Blocks

We never use general anesthesia for resurfacing. We use a combination of topical and local blocks. If you can tolerate the locals given at the dentist, then you will do just fine without a general anesthetic.