Do I need to be under general anesthesia when doing Vaser Lipo?

Question

Isn’t local safer when doing Vaser Lipo? I am planning to do Vaser Lipo on my abs, flanks inner and outer thighs as well. I have read in many sites that many do it under local anesthesia and are fully awake during the procedure. When I consulted my surgeon he said no he will only general anesthesia and I will need to be fully asleep. Is that the norm? Isn’t local anesthesia safer?

Jack G. Bertolino, MD · Answer

You have a choice. It is safer to have the procedure under oral sedation and you will feel better after the procedure. Your result could even be better if you are awake as you would be able to stand and your provider would be able to get an overall better assessment of how you are shaping up. Hope this helps. JB

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

​To get a snatched waist you need to have aggressive fat removal of the torso/sides and have fat injections on the hips/buttock to give the illusion of an S Curve.  This cannot be done with smart lipo, and this cannot be done awake to the full extent that contouring can be performed. I suggest you see a well trained expert in body shaping.   Best, Dr. Emer.

Arif Eroglu, MD · Answer

the operation can be done both under local or general anesthesia, but I personally prefer the general anesthesia as its more comfortable for the patient, I used to do operations with local anesthesia only but the the patient's psychology can be affected in some cases and this is an important factor that we as doctors need to consider while deciding the anesthesia type.

Amir Nakhdjevani, MBBS, MRCS, FRCS(Plast) · Answer

Thank you for your question. Depending on the extent of Vaser liposuction you have will determine what anaesthesia is suitable, and the surgeons preference. Small areas can be carried out under local anaesthetic or IV sedation. I would perform your particular procedure under General Anaesthetic, which is a safe procedure and also as some areas can be very sensitive. All the best

Guang (Sam) Qin, MBBS, MS · Answer

You do not require general anaesthetic for Vaser Liposuction, although some surgeons prefer this. Other options are suitable such as local anaesthetic with or without IV sedation. In my practice we perform hundreds of liposuction procedures each year and our preference is local anaesthetic as opposed to general. Our patients tolerate the procedure extremely well and most of the time are happily awake and chatting.

Hector Milla, MD · Answer

Hello and thank you for your inquire..!! General Anesthesia is a very safe procedure, here in TJPlast we are fortunate to have the most advanced equipment to monitor our patients during the procedure and also highly trained personnel to do so. Vaser liposuction can actually be performed under local anesthesia, IV sedation or general anesthesia depending on the volume of liposuction desired and the area where the liposuction is performed. It is important to consult a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon of your choice being so that the surgeon´s preference on the type of anesthesia depends on various factors. Hope this information helps.Sincerely,Hector Milla, MD

Arian Mowlavi, MD, FACS (license on probation) · Answer

Whether you will go under local or general anesthesia depends on the extent of the procedure. Typically VASER liposuction is combined with other treatments, so it is standard to be under general anesthesia .

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Liposuction it can be done with local anesthesia only, local anesthesia with various levels of sedation for fall general anesthesia.During my training and first 10 years of practice are use general anesthesia for almost all liposuction cases. Midway through my career I took a job working for a liposuction clinic that did not provide general anesthesia.Midway through my career I took a job working for a liposuction clinic that did not provide general anesthesia. I had great mentors who help me learn how to get patients comfortable with local anesthesia teaching me to do full body liposuction with patients awake. since then I’ve never gone back to use general anesthesia for liposuction. I performed over 7000 liposuction procedures with patients awake. The advantages or reason I prefer to not use general anesthesia are as follows. Keeping my patients awake gives me much better results because I can turn my patience and have them hold a different anatomic positions throughout the procedure. When doing liposuction on awake patience it’s mandatory that lots of tumescent or numbing solution is injected in all tissue areas in proper amounts. Not only do the appropriate amounts and important placement need to happen but you also need to wait for the areas to get numbed properly. I typically wait 20 minutes after injecting the tumescent solution before I begin liposuction. Tumescent solution used both during awake liposuction and general anesthesia liposuction contains a drug called epinephrine which causes blood vessels to constrict temporary shutting down the blood flow to the areas were working in. This drastically minimize this bleeding and blood loss during liposuction leaving patients far less bruised and having a faster recovery. Very few plastic surgeons are willing to sit and wait 20 minutes let alone spend 30 minutes injecting to message solution during general anesthesia cases in an expensive operating room at $1000 an hour. This causes general anesthesia liposuction to generally have more bruising And somewhat longer recoveries though  it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. While doing liposuction on awake patients the patient will tell you if something goes wrong during the procedure. Should the surgeon accidentally put the cannula into the abdomen or the chest the patient will immediately have a reaction. If this happens during general anesthesia nobody will know until potentially the anesthesiologist will recognize that there are symptoms of life compromise. That or the patient will develop medical complications a few days later at which point recognizing the complication may be too late. These are rare instances but are minimized by keeping patients awake. Lastly by doing liposuction as an office base procedure With patient awake we avoid expensive operating room and anesthesiologist cost. Deserves as a substantial cost savings to the patient.  I am in no way saying that awake liposuction is the best way to go or that other surgeons should keep patients awake for liposuction. My experience has been that I prefer doing it this way for the reasons stated above. it is only my opinion and other opinions are valid. Like I mentioned earlier during the first 10 years of practice are used to believe it was barbaric and inappropriate as well as unsafe to do office-based liposuction without a formal operating room and without an anesthesiologist. Obviously my views have evolved and they have so purely based on experience. There’s a learning curve to getting patients through major liposuction and fat transfer cases with local anesthesia and mild sedation only. you don’t want to be one of the first patients for a surgeon learning new techniques if you want the highest chance of a favorable outcome.  Of course all of us have to learn and somebody has to be a surgeon’s first patient.  it’s up to the individual patient to choose their surgeon based on what criteria they feel most comfortable with.There’s no question that liposuction while awake can be uncomfortable. It’s a real art to get patients through these procedures without too much pain. There are numerous variables. Having patients who are skillful, not in a rush and balancing the use of medications properly is the key.How uncomfortable can it be?Patients tell me it ranges from feeling like a massage to getting a tattoo. If it feels like a tattoo, is general anesthesia better?I’ve never heard of a tattoo artist using general anesthesia.I asked each and everyone of my patient what the experience was like three months after the procedure. The overall response is generally that even if the procedure was uncomfortable during certain parts they much prefer having been awake then using general anesthesia.When it comes to choosing a surgeon the most important aspect is their experience and skill. Unless the fear of anesthesia is profound I would choose their skill before choosing the form of anesthesia.It’s certainly possible to get good liposuction results with patient asleep but my experience has been that in my hands it’s more Difficult to get access to all the areas to do my job right unless the patient can move and hold their own positions back-and-forth throughout the procedure.This is especially true when working on inner thighs, outer thighs, arms waist, back and armpits.My practice has been devoted exclusively to liposuction and fat transfer for the last decade.My best word of advice for you is to not pay attention to it the device used, name of equipment or form of anesthesia but simply find the provider who has the most experience and greatest skills in your area. In the end this is what makes all the difference between botched versus magical body transformations.Best, Mats Hagstrom MD

Kristine Brecht, MD (license suspended) · Answer

Dear Dubai,Most cosmetic procedures can be done under local tumescent anesthesia with oral sedation, with a skilled surgeon who knows how to do this. I do all of my procedures from facelifts, breast lifts, breast augmentation, tummy tucks, body lifts, fat transfer and liposuction under local anesthesia for over a decade.General anesthesia is a traditional options that is still used, if your surgeon doesn’t know how to do the local techniques, don’t be his test patient.The safest anesthesia is what your surgeon is most comfortable in doing.Best. Dr Kristine BrechtSeattle, Wa

Randy Dean, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hi and welcome to our forum!
Vaser liposuction can be performed under local anesthesia, IV sedation, or general anesthesia. The surgeon's decision may be based upon the extent of the liposuction (aggressive or high volume liposuction may require more anesthesia), the location of the involved areas (some areas are more sensitive than others), the extent of a patient's preoperative anxiety, and the surgeon's preference based upon his / her lifetime surgical experience.  
Local anesthesia has proven to be statistically safer, but both procedures are quite safe!
Best wishes...

Do I need to be under general anesthesia when doing Vaser Lipo?

Answers (10)

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