Local Anesthesia Procedure for the Brazilian Buttlift: Is It Appropriate?
Local anesthesia for Brazilian buttlift is usually a much less than adequate form of anesthesia for a surgery that is significant. In plastic surgery, plastic surgeons use local anesthesia for small procedures like mole removal or scar revisions. Local anesthesia involves injecting local anesthetic or numbing medication into the areas of liposuction and fat transfer. In this procedure, the patient is not put to sleep as is the case for a general anesthesia procedure. Patients frequently ask about the appropriateness of local anesthesia for a procedure like the Brazilian buttlift. For smaller areas of liposuction and smaller fat transfers this may be appropriate, and Dr. Hughes has certainly done this many times.
However, for most patients who want liposuction of the abdomen, sides, and lower back (known as lipo 360) with the BBL, local anesthesia is not adequate to control pain and provide enough anesthesia so that the patient can tolerate the complete procedure. Stopping the procedure prematurely due to pain concerns or due to problems maintaining an airway is not something you want in surgery. In fact, Dr. Hughes frequently revises patients who had local anesthesia BBLs elsewhere, because not enough fat was liposuctioned and not enough fat was transferred. As a patient, it is far better to have the surgery done properly the first time and not spend time and money for a second or third procedure. Dr. Kenneth Hughes wants to get the best possible result with one surgery for each and every patient.
Many of the providers who perform the Brazilian buttlift under local anesthesia may not have the hospital privileges or an accredited surgery center to perform general anesthesia. This is very important to ascertain before you go through with a surgery. Also, many of these providers are not board-certified plastic surgeons and, thus, cannot ever get hospital privileges or operate in surgery centers.