What kind of sedation do you use for liposuction?

Dr. Reichel replies:

I use minimal or moderate “twilight” sedation. This means that my patients are awake and able to talk to me during their liposuction procedure.
Being a Mohs micrographic surgeon, my post-dermatology training was in surgically removing skin cancers on patients who are awake. Having the training and patience to perform surgical procedures on patients who are awake and alert allows us to care for liposuction patients while they are awake. The majority of my tumescent liposuction patients is very comfortable during the procedure and does not need deep sedation. Using only minimal sedation increases the safety of the procedure. My patients walk out of the office, and we insist that they walk around the house or down the block on the evening after their procedure. This decreases the risk of blood clots, and speeds the healing process.