General Anesthesia Necessary for Slim Lipo?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of general vs. local? I had a mini facelift, blepharoplasty, and lipo on ankles with local-no problem.My surgeon says he will only do Smart Lipo with general, idea of general is scary to me.

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anesthesia pros and cons

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4 Doctor Answers | Asked by 9796anon in Atlanta, Georgia

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SlimLipo local versus general anesthesia

This is a great question. Comfort is very important with any surgical procedure. Local anesthesia can provide more than adequate pain control for most small scale procedures. If you are considering multiple areas of treatment or high volume SlimLipo (or any other form of liposuction), then you may want to consider general anesthesia or conscious sedation.

SlimLipo can be done under local anesthesia for small areas-General Anesthesia is more comfortable foe larger areas

The decision whether to use local or General Anesthesia during SlimLipo, SmartLipo, Vaser Lipo or any form of Liposuction is based on your comfort. Your surgeon evaluates the amount of work to be done and the amount of discomfort that you will experience. It is true that a more thorough complete Liposuction can be done under General Anesthesia. Under local anesthesia as fat and the local anesthetic are removed by suctioning you can experience more discomfort. SlimLipo, SmartLipo,... more

General Anesthesia for Slim Lipo

Slim Lipo works great for either multiple small areas or a single larger area. If you have significant fat accumulation you may need to do only one area at a time. The advantage of general anesthesia is that the surgeon and patient can accomplish more fat removal over more areas if this is necessary. Obviously this varies from patient to patient and has to be tailored to your unique body anatomy. As Dr. Shafer mentions, local anesthesia works fine for smaller areas but there is only so... more

General versus Local anesthesia

Many procedures can be performed under local anesthesia. In general, the smaller the procedure, the more likely it can be done under local. This is because lower doses of anesthetic can be used and there is less discomfort for the patient. For larger cases, general anesthesia may be best since it avoids discomfort and pain for the patient and allows more sophisticated monitoring of the patient. SmartLipo can be performed under local or general anesthesia, but it... more