Liposuction Knee/thigh Without Full Anesthesia?

It is entirely possible to undergo localized liposuction using a combination of a local anesthetic with or without a little sedation.  As long as a patient can tolerate a few local injections which sting for a few seconds, then they should be able to undergo the procedure without a problem.  Some surgeons are not comfortable with that technique, so you want to make sure that your surgeon is fully capable of performing it that way and is a board certifed plastic surgeron by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  With regards to timing, I would allow yourself to heal for another month or two.  That way everything is relatively stable so that your surgeon has a better idea of how those areas relate to the rest of the body.  I hope this helps.

  Liposuction of smaller areas may be done with local with a little sedation.  However, some patients cannot tolerate this, and it is important to have the option to convert to general anesthesia.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Thank you for your question. There are options to reduce the anesthesia during liposuction. A more advanced procedure is laser liposuction done under local anesthesia, which is safer and better tolerated. You are fine to do a new area of lipo if you feel up to it. But I would recommend waiting until you are fully healed to see the final effects. Be certain to be under the supervision of a board certified plastic surgeon with expertise in liposuction to discuss all of your options. I hope this helps.

Liposuction can be performed under local, sedation or general anesthesia.. Which procedure to use depends on the amount of lipo being performed and patient's anxiety level and pain tolerance. The amount of bruising or swelling or pain after surgery is not a function of anesthesia, but part of the procedure itself. With appropriate anesthesia you should not have any ill effect after wards. If you have good pain tolerance (since lipo under local is not pain free) Then local or sedation works well. If you want to be completely comfortable during liposuction, then ask for general with a well trained anesthesiologist.

the laws for office based surgery vary across different states in the US. in NY one can do Liposuction in the office based setting as long as it is a small volume (500 cc) or less. knees can sometimes have more than 500 CC of fat in them and that will require and operating room and full anesthesia. for a small sized knee the procedure can be safely done under local anesthesia in an office.

 

Not only is it possible to do liposuction under only local anesthesia, it is far preferable! In fact, I won't do it any other way. It is safer, easier on the patient to recover from, and causes fewer complications. I would absolutely only choose a surgeon who is comfortable using the tumescent liposuction technique under only local anesthesia. 

I think that liposuction can be done on isolated areas with local, but it may be too uncomfortable.  Everyone has different pain thresholds.

Yes, liposuction of the knee can be performed under local anesthesia with the tumescent technique.  Typically, the distal thigh does not need liposuction.  The swelling and healing following liposuction usually take at least three months to get where they are going before deciding if anything further is needed.  The knees can be done when you and your surgeon decide it would be appropriate.