IV sedation vs. Local anesthesia for tumescent neck lipo?

Question

Do patients tolerate tumescent neck lipo well under local anesthesia ? Do patients get better results with IV sedation for tumescent neck lipo?

Lexie Wang, MD · Answer

Hi celebrated. This is entirely up to you. Some people can handle pain no problems and other people cannot. I tell all of my patients that if you do this surgery awake, you need to be prepared for the burning feeling of the lidocaine, the sounds/smells/dripping, and you will still feel tugging (not pain). Patients I've asked who have had this have told me that they underestimated how much burning they would experience and would not necessarily do this again while awake. I have also had patients who cry and panic during the procedure when awake, and you can imagine that this might affect how much a surgeon is willing to proceed (and whether it is even a good idea to do so).

Lane Smith, MD · Answer

It is a quick procedure. Unless you are having something else done, you can skip the risk and expense of IV or general anesthesia. Patients tolerate the procedure exceptionally well under local sedation. In my office, for patients only wanting submental liposuction, we offer the option of a shot to help you relax and we use a numbing solution to make it painless. Once you are finished, you can literally walk out with your family and carry on with your day.  If you would like to be seen for a consultation, feel free to reach out to my office. Smith Plastic Surgery 702-838-2455

Jacob Tower, MD · Answer

Hello, hope you are well. In my experience, anesthetizing the neck for liposuction and comparable procedures under local anesthesia is a quick and easy process, and makes the procedure painless. You avoid any undesirable side effects from IV sedation, and the process is less costly and much more efficient. (You would not need an anesthesiologist, for example, to administer IV medication). The results of your procedure should not be impacted by the type of anesthesia.
Best,Dr. Tower

Sharon Y. Giese, MD · Answer

Most of my patients have neck liposuction with local anesthesia. I give a little muscle shot for sedation so they are relaxed. If someone is very anxious or a control freak I recommend they have sedation or twilight anesthesia. They will not feel anything and just wake up when it is over.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Liposuction of the neck can be done using local anesthesia, local anesthesia with sedation or general anesthesia (with local anesthesia).Local anesthesia is always used because the tumescent solution reduces blood loss and minimizes bruising.
The mountain discomfort from the procedure is highly dependent on the skill and experience of the provider. Having liposuction with no sedation, using local anesthesia alone, can be a little intense for sensitive individuals and can be painful if the surgeon does not have a lot of experience doing these procedures without an anesthesiologist.
Delivering consistent quality, liposuction, results is more difficult than most people realize. The number of plastic surgeons with truly mastered this procedure are in a small minority. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of provider selection when it comes to permanent irreversible body contouring procedures that can leave people disfigured.
The two most important variables are the patient’s candidacy for the procedure provider.
I suggest focusing your effort on finding the most talented provider and follow their recommendations in regards to anesthesia choice.
Defined the best provider for Liposuction. I suggest having multiple in person consultations. During each consultation, asking for Rider to open up your portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patient who had similar facial or next characteristics to your own. An experienced plastic surgeon should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients. Being shown a handful of pre-selected images, representing the best results of a providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider or how many of these procedures they’ve actually done. 
Continue having consultations until you feel very comfortable. You found the right provider for your needs.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of provider selection when it comes to Liposuction.
I personally focused the second half of my career exclusively doing only Liposuction and fast transfer. I do all my procedures using local anesthesia with mild sedation and fine. This is ideal for my needs.
During my training or Liposuction was done using general anesthesia, so I had to learn on my own how to keep patients comfortable to major Liposuction procedurs you think with mild sedation. Doing liposuction comfortably with patients awake has a steep and long learning curve.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

IV sedation vs. Local anesthesia for tumescent neck lipo?

Answers (5)

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