Is Lidocaine Poisoning During Conscious Liposuction a Large Risk Factor?

I am having multiple areas liposuctioned,i.e. lower abdomen, love handles and saddlebags. I'm not overweight at all, just have some problem areas. Is lidocaine poisoning a concern?

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9 Doctor Answers | Asked by magic11 in Alabama

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Lidocaine with Liposuction

Lidocaine is used with tumescent liposuction to numb the areas being treated. If you are being treated in an accredited facility by a board certified surgeon, then they should be following all safety guidelines. Additionally, lidocaine with used in appropriate doses is a very safe medication. That said, since a higher concentration of Lidocaine is required for conscious liposuction, you may need to limited the areas that you want treated to prevent reaching toxic doses.... more

Lidocaine poisoning during conscious liposuction a large risk factor

YEA! Dr Aldea's hit it out of the ball park!!!! In Ft Lauderdale, Fl. there was a lidocaine overdose with conscious patient in liposuction death last year. I have been for over 10 years warning doctors and patients this would happen someday. And it DID! Non trained liposuctionists who are not plastic surgeons have not had the training in medication use. Be Careful out there. From MIAMI DR. Blinski

Lidocaine toxicity during liposuction

When used appropriately by a Plastic Surgeon properly trained in its use, Lidocaine (the injectable that does the numbing of the area) is quite safe. However, if too much is used, it does become toxic and can even cause death. There are a group of surgeons (most with little surgical training) using a tumescent anesthetic formula containing more lidocaine than many of us are comfortable with. My advice is to talk to your surgeon carefully about his/her qualifications and the safety... more

Lidocaine toxicity with lipo due to having too much done under local (tumescent)

Lidocaine is not a particularly toxic drug, and has even saved many lives when used for cardiac resuscitation. However, in large doses it can cause significant problems, and when used with the tumescent technique for wide-awake lipo, the blood levels peak about 8-12 hours later, long after the patient has left the clinic. The question has come up more often lately because of a death that occurred after tumescent lipo at a "lipo clinic" in the Seattle area that... more

Lidocaine toxicity is very uncommon with liposuction

Your surgeon should review all your medications you consume and discuss with you if any need to be stopped prior to the procedure as some will interfere with the metabolism of the lidocaine and the level of the anesthetic in the blood can be elevated. Do not take a new over-the-counter medicine without speaking to your doctor prior to the procedure, as many of those, without prescription, can also affect the anesthetic. Your surgeon also calculates the safe limit of... more

Lidocaine toxicity during liposuction

When Iperfrom liposuction I think of the amount of fluid that I will need to inject and then I dose my lidocaine in each bag to keep the concentration well below toxic levels. I assume your surgeon would do the same.

Steven Wallach, MD

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Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

LIdocaine Toxicity with tumescent liposuction

The administration of a toxic dose of Lidocaine, the commonly used local anesthetic in Tumescent Liposuction, is a known complication which is uncommon when the procedure is done by experienced plastic surgeons. All of us who perform this procedure know how to avoid it and should it happen, how to quickly treat it. If you chose an experienced Plastic surgeon who operates on a Medicare or AAAASF facility I would not stress over it. Good luck with your procedure.

While all drugs can have ill effects, lidocaine is used routinely and successfully with liposuction

When a patient undergoes liposuction of one or many areas either under general anesthesia or iv sedation, ringers lactate with lidocaine is routinely used to distend the tissue to make the procedure less bloody, smoother and less painful. The amount of lidocaine use at any one time has been very carefully evaluated and determined. If the physician stays under 35 mg of lidocaine per kilogram weight, you should have a safe effective procedure.

Tumescent Lidocaine anesthesia is 100 times safer than general anesthesia for Liposuctions if kept under 55mg/kg in healthy pt.

I am making up the 100 X value to get across the point that lidocaine toxicity from tumescent anesthesia is only a minimal risk when compared to the huge risk of general anesthesia when doing liposuctions. In a healthy patient, the lidocaine dose should be kept below 55 mg/kg for the tumescent local anesthesia. The majority of liposuction are no longer being done under general anesthesia for not only safety reasons but also that you get better results when the patients are able to... more