Advantages of a Surgical Procedure Under Local Anaesthetic

You may feel a little discomfort as the injection is being given, but during the procedure, you will of course feel no pain in the treated area at all, and it will feel completely numb.

As the anesthetic wears off, post-procedure, you may feel a slight tingling and there may be minor bleeding or bruising at the site of the injection, but depending on the amount of local anesthetic administered, the numb sensation will wear off within 90 minutes.

Advantages of a surgical procedure under local anaesthetic

The advantages of undergoing some cosmetic, surgical procedures in this way are as follows:

Most obviously, the patient remains awake and alert during the procedure. Only the area to be operated on is numbed so that the patient feels no pain.
Generally, no special preparation is required prior to a local anaesthetic.
Local anaesthetic enables active input from the patient in procedures such as dimple creation, ear correction, areola or nipple reduction, or dermal fillers.
A wide range of cosmetic and corrective procedures can be performed under local anaesthetic, which means that the surgery is more affordable.
Having a procedure under local anaesthetic is far more cost-effective than undergoing a general anaesthetic for the operation, which would necessitate the presence of an anaesthetist, as well as a stay in the hospital, resulting in a higher cost for the operation.
There is no need to ‘starve’ beforehand. If the patient wishes, they can eat a light meal before the procedure and have something to drink.
Similarly, they may eat and drink immediately after the procedure. If the procedure is in the mouth then it is of course advisable to wait until the local anaesthetic has worn off before eating or drinking.
The patient may choose a favourite piece of music to be played in the operating room during the procedure. This will help to distract the patient and keep their mind busy during an unusual situation.
Monitoring the patient immediately after the operation is far simpler than would be the case if the patient has had a general anaesthetic.
Often the patient can be back to their normal routine within two hours of the procedure.

I perform a variety of operations in this way, and suggest it as an option to many of my patients.

If you want to read more, the experts at Consulting Room really know what they're talking about and have put together some blepharoplasty, ear correction, areola or nipple reduction, or dermal filler FAQs just for you.

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Thanks to the author of this blog Mr. Vadodaria, who has had extensive training in plastic surgery in the United Kingdom.

He completed his higher surgical training in plastic surgery and was awarded FRCS (Plastic Surgery). He has been on the specialist register of the General Medical Council since 2004 (Registration Number 4386421).

Mr Vadodaria has presented more than 90 papers at national and international plastic surgical congresses. He has innovated new instruments, simulators and plastic surgical techniques, which are published in peer-reviewed plastic surgery journals.

Advantages of a Surgical Procedure Under Local Anaesthetic

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