Why is tumescent anesthesia typically less painful than a liposuction procedure done under general anesthesia?
Pain associated with liposuction procedures can occur at three different stages: during the infiltration of the tumescent solution, during the procedure, and postoperatively. With SmartLipo the infiltration is normally done using small instruments, which cause little tissue damage and little pain. After the tumescent local anesthesia has been thoroughly infiltrated into the fat, the subsequent procedure should be virtually painless. General anesthesia consists of the use of intravenous sedatives and narcotics. These medicines are commonly associated with a high incidence of nausea, vomiting and postoperative chills. General anesthesia allows the surgeon to treat the tissue in an aggressive and damaging fashion, they use larger instrumentation which leads to a painful and prolonged recovery. Since the patient is “out”, the surgeon tends to use a rougher technique, which would not be possible if the patient was awake. With SmartLipo, some physicians even go so far as to have the patient
