IV Sedation or General Anesthesia for Liposuction and Fat Transfer?

IV sedation can be very ight or deeper, usually performed with an anesthesioogist for greater safety. Beyond the excellent safety concerns about having a half asleep patient on their stomach, patient tolerance for discomfort and awareness of the surgery are important. For a larger case (and for many patients even for a smaller one), do you really want to be awake and experience the surgery?

Don't be scared of general anesthesia. General anesthesia actually give the anesthesiologist the most control over your body, which can lead to a smoother surgery. However, in many cases IV sedation is appropriate as well. The anesthesia decision should be made between you, your surgeon and your anesthesiologist. Good luck with your surgery.

Dear Itecdh The safest form of liposuction is pure tumescent liposuction. The key is dilute local anesthetic that is slowly infiltrated into the tissue. Then tiny cannulas are used to remove the fat. Fat transfer can be performed in exactly the same way with great results. However, this procedure is time consuming. The same liposuction that can be done in 45 minutes under general anesthesia could take about 3 hours to perform under local simply because doing the procedure more slowly makes... more

IV sedation versus local anesthesia always comes up in conversation with patients. It is a matter of comfort. I think both are safe, but I think in most cases patients are more comfortable with IV sedation. If the patient is more comfortable, then so is the surgeon performing the procedure. This may lead to better results as well.

I'm a big fan of IV sedation because of the easier recovery, but being in the prone position (face down) is risky for just sedation because your airway may not be safe.  Therefore, I would highly recommend general anesthesia for your procedure.  Good luck!

Hi! Either type of anesthesia is safe, and it depends a lot on the experience of the individual anesthesiologist.  But in New York, we think it is easier to control your airway with general anesthesia for liposuction and fat injections, because you will be face down for several hours.

Either general anesthesia or IV sedation can work well- it really depends on the experience and preference of your surgeon and anesthesia team. In general, most folks prefer a general anesthetic for longer procedures, but there is no hard and fast rule. Talk to your surgeon about any concerns you may have, and in most cases, the surgeon can perform the procedure with either type of anesthesia.

In my experience,since 1984, I prefer general anesthesia for longer proceedures like yours for the following reasons: 1. blood pressure control 2. ease of positioning 3.patient comfort 4.it allows me to be as aggressive as need be. Patients need to be honest with themselves as to whether they are uoto local and iv sedation.

For procedures lasting 1-2 hours, IV sedation is an acceptable alternative. For a procedure lasting 3 hours, I often recommend general anesthesia because it is often difficult for a patient to remain comfortable for that period of time. However, this varies tremendously among surgeons and depending on the extent of the procedure and the patient tolerance, these are not rigid rules. If an individual is having liposuction of less sensitive areas and has a history of adverse reactions to... more