What are the pros and cons of general or local anesthesia? I'm 5'3 and 185 lbs. Most of the weight is in my abdomen.

Thanks for the question, I perform almost liposuction exclusively and about half awake and half under general. Firstly, if the patient is very anxious we just go straight to general as it is important to have a great experience because the journey is as important as the destination. For smaller areas patients like not going all the way under because they recover faster, have less risks of complications, and can just get up and walk out at the end of a case. Its an individual process and if you are having surgery under local make sure your doctor does a lot as there is a lot of finesse to this

Thank you for your question!Both general and local anesthesia can make your treatment process more comfortable. Many patients prefer general anesthesia because they are completely asleep and will not remember anything from their procedure. It also allows the surgeon to do the necessary work since the patient is “feeling no pain”. Personally, it is uncomfortable for me as a surgeon to perform surgery under local anesthesia when a patient is anxious or uncomfortable even given all the appropriate medicines to numb an area and comfort a patient. So, I find that having a patient asleep is often times safer than performing the procedure under local anesthesia. Surgeons sometimes prefer the method with the least anesthesia and not putting a patient to sleep. More often, the patient ends up receiving more rather than less anesthesia because the patient needs more medicine to be comfortable. With gas anesthesia, the gases go into the system and out of the system rapidly. The type of anesthesia is best discussed with your surgeon and what is most comfortable for he/she.  As a patient you want the BEST result from your surgeon. Don’t select a surgeon because one performs the surgery under local and the other has you sedated. After all, you want the best result, in the hands of the best surgeon. Please remember how important it is to find a well-qualified plastic surgeon. All plastic surgeons should have the proper training and perform surgeries every day either using local anesthesia, sedation anesthesia or general anesthesia. Many of them have their own accredited operating rooms and will perform what they think is the SAFEST and BEST way for them and you the patient. So, remember when you go to a non-board certified, cosmetic surgeon and not a plastic surgeon, there are risks involved!