Do you get put to sleep? (Photo)

I use the tumescent technique for liposuction, in combination with general anesthesia. The fluid that is used contains epinephrine
to decrease the risks of bleeding and bruising, and lidocaine to decrease the
amount of anesthesia that you need during the operation. The lidocaine also
provides pain relief after surgery. The procedure is performed under
intravenous anesthesia, with a board certified anesthesiologist present
throughout the operation. This allows me
to feather the areas that are being treated, creating a smooth transition into
the surrounding areas, without causing you any pain. The cannulae I can use are small in
diameter. Which ones I choose depends on
the amount of fat, the condition of the skin, the area being suctioned, the
character of the fat, and the amount of fibrous tissue. The wounds are just large enough to allow
passage of the cannulae. They are hidden
in areas that are inconspicuous.

It is common to perform liposuction of the abdomen, hips,
and thighs together. This treats the
trunk as one aesthetic unit, giving the best overall results. Of course this depends on the patient’s
anatomy. It is possible that only parts
of the trunk require treatment. If these
areas are small, it may be possible to do arms, knees, or under the chin at the
same time The surgery is personalized to your goals and anatomy.

The decision regarding the type of anesthesia to be used is made cooperatively by the patient and their surgeon.  You should know that in cases of less than a few hours' duration, and with limited fat deposits, laser liposuction can be performed under local anesthesia, frequently with oral sedation, and patients can be quite comfortable!  IV sedation or general anesthesia may be used for larger cases or due to patient preference.  Often times, the number of liposuction sites, the size of the fat deposits, a patient's overall health, and considerations of expense can influence the decision.  

Liposuction can be done under general anesthesia. With this type of anesthesia, you will be given medication to calm your nerves before going into the OR, and will not feel anything during the procedure. Awake liposuction is done with you awake. You will have some preoperative medication to make you more relaxed. However, you will experience the local anesthetic and may feel movement and vibration during the procedure. If you are very concerned about being awake, choose general anesthesia.

No, you don't. Interestingly you also do not need to be put to sleep for any type of liposuction. Although with the addition of recent technological advances with different surgical modalities such as PAL (vibratory Liposuction), UAL (Ultrasonic Liposuction), LAL (Laser liposuction) etc. the popularity of doing liposuction under straight local was marginal.  It is not the technology that allows for doing the procedure under local anesthesia but the skill of using the appropriate amounts of local anesthesia,  and number and size of the areas having liposuction. Now if you prefer to be put to sleep (general anesthesia) that can also be done.  The advantages sometimes outweighs the risks in that you can often do more areas in a shorter time (one session of surgery instead of multiple procedures under local). You can also have some oral sedation to take the "edge off" your anxiety should you opt for local. Likewise you can have IV sedation which is known as "twilight" anesthesia where you are nearly asleep but not quite and this may be a conservative alternative to full general anesthesia.William Aiello, MD  Orange County California

Yes you do get to to be put to sleep when you have general anesthesia. You're given a sedative, hypnotic, and an analgesic to allow you to be comfortable during your surgery. 

Laser assisted Liposuction can be performed with you being awake and getting some mild sedation to relax you or completely under general anesthesia.  It really depends on how much liposuction is being performed and how comfortable you are. Your surgeon should be able to make recommendations after meeting and examining you to tell you what would work best in your situation.  I like to give patients options to maximize comfort and results.

Patients can be put to sleep for SmartLipo but usually laser liposuction is performed under local anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation. Sedatives such as Valium or Versed are used to prevent panicking.Best wishes.