Why is Local Anesthesia over General More Common for Labiaplasty? Is It a 'Shortcut' Per Se?

Hi,

I prefer to use local anesthesia for labiaplasty. It saves the patient around $1500 and is much safer when compared to a general anesthetic.When the procedure is complete the patient can get up and leave right away and expect to be completely pain free for several more hours. Even when the patient is put to sleep under a general (for instance when I am doing a combined procedure) I instill local anesthetics into the labia tissue to limit intra-operative bleeding and immediate post-op pain. Does the local cause swelling of the tissue? Yes? Does this prevent me from doing a good job? No. By carefully examining and marking the tissue prior to local instillation, I am able to effectively remove the excess tissue and close the incisions. I hope this helps.

All my best,

Daniel A. Medalie, MD

I find that if done correctly, local anesthesia provides excellent numbing and is tolerated by my patients extremely well.  Local anesthesia should not hinder an experienced surgeon's ability to achieve the patient's desired results of a labiaplasty.  Local anesthesia is more cost effective, and there are less risks associated with local anesthesia than there are with general.  Tissues do swell after we inject local anesthesia, however as an experienced Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, we understand how to make our initial marks and plan the surgery so that despite swelling immediately (from anesthesia), or later on during surgery (for any other reason) we can continue and complete the surgery with complete success.  Board Certified Plastic Surgeons are trained to create these types of flaps and move tissue around the entire body, so anyone that can't do this with a bit of swelling perhaps should gain a little more experience before attempting it with local anesthesia.  Best wishes.

Most labiaplasty experts will perform the procedure using either general or local anesthesia. Both are appropriate for labial contouring. Raffy Karamanoukian, Los Angeles

I perform labiaplasty with either local anesthesia or general anesthesia, depending on patient preference.  Because it is a small area, local anesthesia may be very effective.  For extensive procedures, I typically prefer general anesthesia.

   General anesthesia allows for the patient to be completely comfortable during the procedure.  I perform local with sedation upon patient request, but I prefer general for patient comfort.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA