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Tumescent Liposuction Pain

asked 2 years ago by Help14 in Hawaii
Latest answer by Vivek Bansal, MD
Question viewed 3,625 times
Tags: anesthesia, pain

How painful is Tumescent liposuction if done under general anesthesia? Is it really a lot worse than doing it with local? I'm getting it done in 3 days (Friday morning and I have to go back to work on Monday).

21 answers to Tumescent Liposuction Pain

Pain, Tumescent Liposuction with Sedation Vs. General Anesthesia

Whenever dust is thrown up in the air to confuse matters, it is always best to "clear the air", define the terminology and make sure we are all addressing the same question. TUMESCENT LIPOSUCTION is nothing but the universally performed pre-liposuction infiltration of the fat to be suctioned with a dilute solution of a local anesthetic (lidocaine, marcaine etc) and Adrenaline (Epinephrine) which increases the accuracy of fat removal, largely reduces blood losses AND increases... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

No problem with pain but your back to work a bit early

Tumescent liposuction has an anesthetic in it which helps to minimize pain after surgery. General anesthesia will provide a controlled environment and short term amnesia surrounding the event. the combination will make this a very pleasant experience for you. If pain is controlled during surgery it does not escalate after. Pain after liposuction varies with the areas being done but most people describe the sensation as soreness like after a vigorous work out. I maintain a compressive... more

Robert W. Kessler, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction under general anaesthesia

Even if you are having procedure under general anaesthetic, using tumescence technique helps reduce postoperatvie pain and the recovery is much more comfortable. sanjay parashar

Sanjay Parashar, MD
Dubai Plastic Surgeon

No pain during tumnescent liposuction and general anesthesia

To give the simple answer, there is no pain when surgery is done under genral anesthesia. You are asleep for the whole procedure and have amnesia of the event.. If tumnescent fluid is placed in your tissues, as it is nearly universally in liposuction cases, some remains after the liposuction is done and that will give you about 2.5 hours of pain relief after you wake up. Then any discomfort is easily controlled by oral pain medications, iced compresses to the areas treated... more

Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent Lipo

The pain should be similar in 4-6 hours after the procedure. Take pain medication and you should be comfortable. Thank you for your question and good luck with everything.

Vivek Bansal, MD
Danville Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent Liposuction

As mentioned many times before, tumescence is not a form of liposuction, it is the placement of fluid in the subcutaneous space BEFORE liposuction is performed to facilitate the removal of the fat. Here is the definition of tumescence: tumescence is the quality or state of being tumescent or swollen. The tumescent fluid is a dilute isotonic sterile solution in which epinephrine and a local anesthetic have been added. It SWELLS the tissue before the procedure. There... more

David Finkle, MD
Omaha Plastic Surgeon

Pain during tumescent liposuctiion

There should be no pain during surgery. I perform all liposuctions except for the most minor procedures under intravenous sedation. I would not employ general anesthesia, with intubation, for this procedure. It is unnecessary and produces a longer recovery. Personally, I never encourage a patient to return to work 72 hours after surgery. It may be possible for some individuals but others are not ready, particularly given the stresses of commuting in New York City. I would rather anticipate a... more

Robert L. Kraft, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent liposuction is painless under general anesthesia

We often use general anesthesia during tumescent liposuction, particularly for more stubborn areas along the hip and flank. Also anesthesia is nice when multiple areas are involved to eliminate any pain or pricking. Liposuction by tumescent techniques result in about a weekend of recovery though you will need to wear a compression garment for several weeks. Many discourage general anesthesia, possibly because of cost, but safety is not an issue in an accredited facility. Best of luck... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent liposuction is as uncomfortable as a few small pin pricks

Once the initial numbing injections are done it really is remarkably comfortable. It would be highly unusual to need general anesthesia along with this. In fact many patients who come back to have an additional area operated on, often choose to even forgo the mild sedation we offer. Excellent operative assistants assure comfort, and light conversation throughout the procedure,helps the time go by quickly.

Christopher J. Peers, MD
South Bend Facial Plastic Surgeon

No pain if under general anesthesia...however

If you are having tumescent liposuction under general anesthesia, you won't experience pain while sedated. However, I will say that tumescent liposuction is normally done under IV sedation because it is considered safer, you'll experience less recovery, and patients experience less side effects (nausea, vomiting) from IV sedation.

Peter Schmid, DO
Longmont Facial Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent Liposuction with General Anesthesia

Tumescent liposuction is the instillation of tumescent fluid, (IV fluid, lidocaine, and epinephrine). The lidocaine decreases pain. The epinephrine reduces bruising and bleeding. There is no pain during general anesthesia. There may be some soreness after the procedure. This soreness depends on how much liposuction you are doing, and other factors. It is usually well tolerated.

Jeffrey Roth, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

Tumescent liposuction under general anesthesia

When tumescent liposuction is performed under general anesthesia you will experience no pain during the procedure. After the procedure, you may experience some discomfort depending on where the lab section was performed and how much tissue is removed. In our practice, patients typically are able to control the discomfort with Tylenol and a small number of pain pills. Our patients also wear a garment immediately after liposuction which they state gives them added support and comfort... more

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Minimal Pain and Minimal Downtime

Liposuction is one of the least painful procedures and anesthesia certainly reduces this. There will be some soreness later that pain medication usually reduces. Consider Vaser Liposuction as it tends to be less painful in our hands versus tumescent liposuction alone.

Charles Perry, MD
Sacramento Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction under anesthesia

I prefer performing liposuction with some kind of sedation, because whether or nor tumescent fluid is used, it is always more comfortable for the patient. If the patient is comfortable and not moving around too much, I do much better work. Post-procedure the amount of discomfort for the patient is about the same.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

There is very little pain with tumescent anesthesia

There is very little pain with tumescent anesthesia. The local anesthetic in the injected fluid eliminates most discomfort. There is usually no reason to have liposuction done under general anesthesia. This only increases the chances of complications and makes the recovery longer. I have performed tumescent local anesthesia on thousands of patients who have gone back to work in two or three days, without difficulty.

William Coleman III, MD
Metairie Dermatologic Surgeon

Tumescent liposuction with general anesthesia is like doing a C-Section in order to deliver normally

The whole reason that tumescent liposuction was invented by a dermatologist was to avoid the risks of general anesthesia. Believe me, if you get it done this way you are losing all the good parts of tumescent (less pain, less bruising, less recovery time) and getting all the bad stuff of general anesthesia. General anesthesia has problems with death rates just from the process, so why in the world would you want to do that when you can have the safest form, tumescent, done by a... more

Joel Schlessinger, MD
Omaha Dermatologist

www.LovelySkin.com

Pain after tumescent liposuction

There is no pain during the procedure since you are asleep. After the surgery there is some discomfort from the mechanical trauma during the procedure. Most patients complain of a soreness in the areas treated. The discomfort is similar to a tough workout. In my experience, most patients are back to work within a few days. With this technique, there is generally less bruising.

Robert M. Wald, Jr., MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Pain is not a big component of liposuction

The vast majority of our Santa Rosa liposuction patients feel only modest pain, whether done under general anesthesia or sedated. We use a small amount of lidocaine in the tumescent fluid and we are careful with the suction. That way we ensure minimal bruising and minimal swelling, which leads to a minimal-pain recovery.

Francisco Canales, MD
Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon

Recovery from liposuction varies

In my experience, this varies tremendously among individuals and among the areas and the extent of liposuction performed. For example, it seems that patients complain more about their "love handles" than their stomachs when the liposuction is performed around the waist area. Generally, if you are having a few areas treated on Friday, your surgeon may apply dressings that shold remain on unitl Monday. You may requrie an examination at that time and would not be able to return to... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Pure tumescent liposuction is not performed under general

Pure tumescent liposuction, by definition, is performed under only local anesthesia. General anesthesia has risks, and downtime and recovery may be increased. The size of the cannulas used, the number of areas being treated, and the amount of fat removed all can affect downtime. As I only perform liposuction using local anesthesia, patients WALK out of the room following the procedure and can resume daily activities in 1-3 days, and aerobic activities by 1 week. ... more

Melanie D. Palm, MD
San Diego Dermatologic Surgeon

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