Can a Breast Reduction Be Preformed Under Local Anesthesia or Twilight Sedation?

Although it may be possible to perform small reductions in select patients,  most breast reductions are done under general anesthesia which provides both safety and comfort for the patient.  Additionally, acheiving an adequate reduction can potentially be compromised with patient discomfort which is not an issue with general anesthesia.  

     While this could be attempted, this is a surgery that is performed under general anesthesia by the vast majority of plastic surgeons in the US.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of breast lifts and reductions each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

If the surgeon is experienced in obtaining good local anesthesia and the patient desires sedation and is not too anxious it can be safely done with iv sedation. I have done many, and they have gone well. Patient selection and close cooperation with the anesthesiology team is important.

Breast reduction is not usually performed under local with sedation. It is a long procedure and even when the local is working perfectly, it is hard to sit still for hours with no bathroom breaks while the procedure is performed. There is a limit to the amount of local that can be given, so general anesthesia with a board certified anesthesiologist is the way to go. 

There are surgeons that will perform breast reduction surgery under local anesthesia with IV sedation, I am not one of them. The safety and comfort of the patient is most important to me. I have a Board Certified anesthesiolgist that administers general anesthesia for my patients and monitors them closely allowing me to concentrate on surgery. It can be difficult to control pain under local. Good luck.

yes a major surgery like you want .might be performed under spetial conditions 1.- overweight no more than 10% 2.- any smoking since 1 month before, 3.-any diabetes, any cardiological, asthma or bleeding problem 4-any high blood 5.- minimum 2 days after air flight arriving for surgery 5.- any big varicose vein 6.- anxiety tabs since 1 day before surgery.

si una operacion de esa magnitud puede ser manejada con local sedacion siempre y cuando reuna los requisitos de  peso adecuado  no ants patologicos de diabetes, hipertension,coagulacion asma, cardiopatias etc conjuntamente  con medicacion preoperatoria antiansiedad

While it is certainly possible to perform a breast reduction under sedation with local, you are probably better off to have it under general.

I would not recommend straight local anesthesia for breast reduction except in a very select group of patients. In my practice our Board Certified Anesthesiologists routinely give patients a light general anesthesia where the patient is not awake, but they are breathing on their own and are not intubated. Along with supplemental local anesthesia, this method provides a safe, comfortable, experience for the patient and an appropriate environment for the surgery.

Speak to your surgeon and anesthesiologist about the best approach for your case.

Although breast reduction can (and is) performed under local anesthesia with sedation, this would not be my preference or recommendation.  I find that the use of general anesthesia provided by a board-certified anesthesiologist provides for optimal patient comfort, immobility, experience, and outcomes.

Best wishes.

Breast reduction may be possible using local anesthetic along with infiltration of dilute anesthetic fluid into the breast tissue. However, this may only be practical in selected patients. Local anesthesia with sedation by an anesthesiologist however, can be done and I have done it successfully in selected patients. However, the choice should be made based on each patients medical condition and the experience of the surgeon and anesthesiologist.