Does the type of anesthesia affect the safety of liposuction surgery?
The type of anesthesia used for the liposuction surgery can influence the risk associated with liposuction. There have been no deaths reported with liposuction that is accomplished using the tumescent technique totally by local anesthesia. Virtually all deaths associated with liposuction are associated with the use of either general anesthesia or the use of intravenous (IV) sedation. A recent publication in the journal, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, reported 95 deaths associated with liposuction from 1994 to mid-1998, all of which occurred in the hands of surgeons who typically use general or systemic anesthesia. In the same period of time there were no reported deaths associated with liposuction when performed by surgeons who do tumescent liposuction totally by local anesthesia. (Reference: Grazer FM, de Jong RH. Fatal outcomes from liposuction: census survey of cosmetic surgeons. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 105:436-446, 2000).
