Local anesthesia?

It is possible to undergo a breast lift-reduction under local anesthesia, but the question would be WHY? There is a common misconception among the public that local anesthesia equals safe and general anesthesia equals dangerous. This is not true! With local anesthesia alone, patients are more likely the have painful areas that the local anesthesia just wont reach, so parts may have to be done "bare-knuckling" it. Additional injections may not be possible to achieve additional numbing, because a patient can easily be overdosed by having too much local anesthesia which can potentially lead to seizures and cardiac arrest. Finally, an operation performed under local anesthesia, in my hands, takes longer to do than the same procedure when done with general anesthesia. SO, it is more uncomfortable, somewhat more risky and there is no time savings with local anesthesia. General anesthesia is in fact so safe, there is a much higher chance of dying from an automobile accident driving to the surgery center, than there is have a serious complication from general anesthesia. A Board Certified Plastic surgeon is trained to do this procedure the safest way possible, that is, under a well controlled general anesthetic. If all that is offered to you is breast reduction under local anesthesia, check the credentials of the doctor offering this and see if he/she has privileges to do this at a hospital. If not , that physician may not be a board certified SURGEON and would be many times less qualified to perform any procedure as complex as a breast reduction and or lift. Check carefully before undergoing a procedure like this under local anesthesia! Their are few, if any advantages and there could be potentially be a higher risk than the alternative.

I do not believe that there is any real advantage to having a breast lift performed under local anesthesia. General anesthesia is extremely safe when administered by a board certified anesthesiologist in a certified/credentialed facility. Further it allows the surgeon to focus on the operation while the anesthesiologist can concentrate on the patient and making sure that the patient is neither aware nor in any discomfort.

If the operation is performed under local anesthesia, there is usually some discomfort to the patient while the local anesthetic is being injected and the patient may then also be awake for the duration of the procedure which for this operation may be upwards of two hours. Further, the amount of local anesthesia that may need to be injected for an operation of this magnitude may exceed the safe dosage. Once that dose is achieved then it is possible that the local anesthesia may be inadequate and the remainder of the procedure could be painful or perhaps need to be delayed.

Overall, this procedure is best performed, in my opinion, under general anesthesia which is safe, comfortable for the patient and allows the operation to proceed without delay and/or compromise.