In the case of WAL liposuction of the lower limbs you will have the choice between general anaesthesia or spinal anesthesia, in this article we will focus on the latter.
Spinal anesthesia
- It is a loco-regional anesthesia (selective local anaesthesia of a limb segment, a limb or a whole region of the body) like the epidural performed before childbirth.
It consists of injecting a local anesthetic (medication) with a needle at the very bottom of the spinal column, more precisely in the so-called cerebrospinal fluid.
Please note that the skin itself will have been anesthetised beforehand, to avoid any pain. This results in a particularly effective anaesthesia of the lower limbs, allowing all the nerves in the part of the body concerned (in this case: the pelvis and the legs) to be numbed and made insensitive
- The anesthetist will welcome you on your arrival in the operating room and will accompany you throughout the operation, monitoring your vitals.
If there is insufficient spinal anesthesia, the anesthetist may adjust the doses of sedation for your comfort.
- It is an injection carried out by the anesthetist, it is made to measure and adapted to your case (weight, operating time)
- The duration of action of this anesthetic is usually 3 hours.
- You are neither asleep nor intubated, you breathe by yourself without a respirator..
- At first you will feel a tingling sensation, then a heaviness in the area where the injection was made and then you will feel nothing: no pain, no discomfort, no pressure.
- An intravenous sedative will be given to allow you to relax completely during the operation.
- You can listen to music with your headphones, doze naturally or even ask questions if you wish: do not hesitate to report any discomfort (nausea, unpleasant sensations…).
- An operating field (i.e. a sterile non-woven fabric) will isolate you from the surgeons: you will not see anything.
- At the end of the operation you will be in the recovery room.
The effects of the spinal anesthesia will gradually wear off and you will be able to move your legs and regain feeling very slowly.
At the end of the day, you can go straight home and walk normally.
There are some contraindications to this form of anaesthesia, for example: bleeding disorders or a skin infection in the lower back.
You are also entitled to refuse this form of anesthesia, in which case you can discuss other options with the anesthetist.
