What Are the Options for Local Anesthesia During a Brow Lift?

As stated by others the 2 types of local anesthetic used are Lidocaine and Bupivacaine and it is very unlikely to have an allergic reaction to these.  We perform all of brow lifts with local anesthesia plus IV sedation (no general anesthesia)

It would be rare to perform a brow lift under local anesthesia only - without some IV sedation or anesthesia.

Certainly, the major sensory nerves in the brow area can be blocked easily with local anesthesia, to improve post-op comfort.  I do this routinely during the brow lift surgery.

Most surgeons use lidocaine or marcaine.  True allergies to these are rare - have you had some type of reaction previously?  Did you see an allergist for a work-up?  If you think you might have one of these rare reactions, I'd suggest getting an allergist to comment on your situation prior to surgery.

 

All the best,

 

Without a history of a bad reaction to a local anesthetic, skin testing is not indicated or necessary.  The local anesthetics used during surgery are very close to the ones used during dental procedures, suturing cuts and lacerations, ect.  It a patient has a true allergy, which is very rare, it is typically discovered early in life.


Hope this helps

 

it is rare to do skin tests although it is siimple and easy to do ...  most doctors use lidocaine, marcaine or a combination

In selected patients, certain variations of brow lifts can be done under local anesthesia, sometimes with the addition of a little sedation (example, a Valium pill).

One good example is when performing a brow lift through the hairline. Local anesthesia is used to do a "nerve block" on the nerves just above the eyebrows. Then, the incision area is injected and the area between the brow and incision is injected. The local anesthetic (Lidocaine, Marcaine or a combination) will have some epinephrin (adrenalin) to minimize bleeding and bruising (this may make you feel a bit anxious, like having too much coffee). After about 10 minutes, the area should be numb and ready to go.

Unless you have a known allergy to local anesthetics (very rare), a skin test is not done.