Discomfort During Liposuction
During the liposuction procedure, there need not be any discomfort. Many patients choose to have conscious sedation during their procedure. With conscious sedation, one gets medications through an I.V. that makes one sleepy, but arousable. Therefore, usually feels no discomfort during the procedure. The liposuction procedure usually takes the least amount of time to perform when conscious sedation is used.
Others choose to have tumescent liposuction and take Valium or Valium-like medication before the procedure and/or prescription pain medication. For many, this is sufficient and little discomfort is felt. If many separate areas are going to be treated (for example, the arms, inner thighs, and outer thighs) or one has a low threshold for pain, one might consider having conscious sedation.
Some patients choose to have pure tumescent liposuction. No adjunctive anesthesia is given during the pure form of this procedure, and tumescent fluid acts as the only anesthetic. Some mild discomfort is usually felt as the fluid is slowly injected into the fatty tissue. This process usually takes 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending upon how many areas are to be treated. In general, if more than one area is to be treated, conscious sedation or adjunctive anesthesia should be considered.
Discomfort After Liposuction
After the procedure, there may be some discomfort depending upon the area that was treated, and the number of areas treated. This varies greatly from person to person. In general, the discomfort after tumescent liposuction is mild to moderate, although easily controlled with prescription pain medications. Obviously, if the buttocks are treated, it can be somewhat uncomfortable to sit, although the pain medication will make this easily tolerable.
