Liposuction is a procedure that removes fat from the body. It’s often performed to remove fat deposits in areas such as the abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. Liposuction can be done using local anesthesia or general anesthesia. If you choose to have liposuction with local anesthesia, you’ll be awake during the procedure but will not feel any pain.
If you’re considering having liposuction done without any anesthesia at all, please be aware that it will be much more painful than with local anesthesia. The only time that it’s recommended for someone to undergo liposuction without any anesthesia is if they’re undergoing a last-resort treatment for a medical condition in which the benefits outweigh the pain.
Read on to learn more about Can Liposuction Be Done With Local Anesthesia, Medicaid Weight Loss Surgery
Can Liposuction Be Done With Local Anesthesia
Insights from Chicago’s Leader in Local Anesthesia Liposuction
Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that removes fat from the body. In many cases, liposuction is performed to contour and slim the body.
Liposuction can be performed under local anesthesia, but it’s important to discuss your options with your doctor before you have the procedure done. Here’s what you need to know about local anesthesia for liposuction.
How Does Liposuction Work?
Liposuction removes fat from a specific area of the body by suctioning it through a small incision. A cannula (plastic tube) is inserted into the fatty tissue through the small opening and then used to draw out the fat cells. The cannula is attached to a vacuum suction device so that as it’s withdrawn, it leaves behind a clean wound site where there was once excess skin or fat tissue.
What Are Local Anesthesia Options for Liposuction?
Local anesthesia (also called regional anesthesia) numbs only part of your body rather than all of it as happens with general anesthesia (where you’re unconscious). Local anesthesia can be used during various types of surgery, including:
Incisional surgery (where an incision is made)
Liposuction is a very popular procedure that can help people get rid of excess fat and contour their bodies. The procedure involves using a hollow tube called a cannula to suction the fat out of the body. It is typically performed with local anesthesia, but sometimes general anesthesia is used.
Local Anesthesia
Liposuction can be performed under local anesthesia, which means that you will be awake during the procedure but your face and body will be numb. You may feel pressure and tugging as the doctor removes the fat, but you won’t feel any pain. This type of anesthesia is safe for most patients, but it does carry risks such as bleeding or infection at the site where the doctor makes an incision. If you have any concerns about using local anesthesia for liposuction, talk to your doctor before proceeding with surgery.
General Anesthesia
General anesthesia is usually reserved for patients who are having other procedures at the same time as liposuction. In these cases, general anesthesia allows your surgeon to perform several different procedures without any pain or discomfort on your part. Liposuction may also be done under general anesthesia if there are special circumstances (such as a history of heart problems) that would make local anesthesia unsafe
Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes fat from the body. It is done by suction and a thin tube called a cannula. There are two types of liposuction:
Lipoplasty uses a laser to break up fat and remove it through small incisions. This procedure is often used for smaller areas such as the knees, hips, and chin.
Tumescent liposuction uses a numbing medicine to numb the area before surgery. It also uses tumescent fluid (salt water) to help with bleeding after surgery.
A local anesthetic may be used for liposuction, but it’s not always necessary.
Liposuction is a surgical procedure to remove fat from the body. Liposuction is usually done by making small cuts in the skin and then suctioning out the fat. Local anesthesia is used to numb the area before, during, and after the procedure.
This surgery is done under general anesthesia in most cases. It can also be done under local anesthesia with sedation in some cases. It may take more than one session of liposuction to achieve your desired results. The number of sessions depends on how much fat needs to be removed and how much time you have available for healing between sessions.
Liposuction can be performed on any area of the body where there is excess fat, including:
Around your waistline or abdomen
On your hips, thighs or buttocks
Liposuction is a procedure that removes fat from the body. It’s often used to shape the contours of the body and enhance physical features. The procedure involves inserting a thin tube called a cannula through small incisions in the skin. The cannula allows for the removal of unwanted fat deposits from areas such as the abdomen, thighs, hips, buttocks and back.
While liposuction is relatively safe when performed by an experienced surgeon, it can be painful. Some people experience mild soreness following treatment, while others experience more severe pain. In some cases, pain can last for weeks or even months after surgery.
If you’re considering having liposuction but are concerned about the pain associated with this procedure, there are alternatives to traditional anesthesia that may be able to help you manage postoperative discomfort without compromising your results.
Local anesthesia with intravenous sedation
Intravenous sedation (IV) refers to a type of general anesthesia that’s administered through an IV line placed in one of your veins before surgery begins. IV sedation drugs include benzodiazepines like diazepam (Valium) or lorazepam (Ativan), as well as narcotics like fentanyl or morphine
How to get medicaid to cover tummy tuck
Medicaid typically covers life-sustaining surgeries such as open-heart procedures and operations to remove malignant cancers.
But what about elective procedures that you schedule in advance to address other less threatening conditions? The answer is a resounding “it depends” because many operations fall into a gray area.
Contact the company administering your plan and request precertification. The response will vary based on three questions, which this article addresses for commonly performed surgeries.
- Is it medically necessary?
- Is it the least costly alternative?
- Does your state institute special rules?
Medicaid Cosmetic Surgery
Medicaid rarely covers elective cosmetic surgery because it is not medically necessary in most cases. Cosmetic procedures reshape healthy tissue to alter or improve appearance. You might need to seek out alternatives.
- Cosmetic surgery financing enables affordable monthly payment plans
- Financial help options for surgery could lower related costs
While cosmetic operations might enhance your sense of self-esteem, it does not correct an underlying health problem, which is the key criterion.
Table Of Contents
Skin Removal
Medicaid rarely pays for excess skin removal surgery after significant weight loss surgery because Panniculectomy typically falls into the cosmetic category. Extra epidermis normally does not pose a health risk.
However, your plan could approve skin removal if you can demonstrate the medical necessity. Be prepared to meet these criteria.
- Excess epidermis causes chronic rashes and infections
- You lost more than 100 pounds and maintained a stable weight since
- Bariatric surgery was performed at least twelve months prior
Tummy Tuck
Medicaid will most likely not pay for a tummy tuck except under rare circumstances. This cosmetic surgery typically reshapes otherwise healthy stomach muscles and removes fatty tissue that poses little risk to the patient.
However, a tummy tuck could fall into the medically necessary category if the Abdominoplasty fits one of two narrow criteria.
- Addresses a health condition such as persistent back pain or incontinence
- Performed at the same time as another covered procedure
- Panniculectomy
- Breast reconstruction that requires belly fat
- Hernia repair
- C-section
- Hysterectomy
Liposuction
Medicaid rarely pays for Liposuction because targeted fat reduction typically falls into the cosmetic surgery category. Reshaping problem areas of your body that do not respond to diet and exercise is not medically necessary.
However, your plan could approve claims for Liposuction if your surgeon can establish that the procedure treats a covered health condition.
- Lipomas: benign fatty tumors
- Gynecomastia: Abnormal enlargement of male breasts
- Lipodystrophy: Selective absence of adipose tissue
- Axillary hyperhidrosis: Excess armpit sweating
Medicaid Plastic Surgery
Medicaid is also more likely to cover plastic surgery because it reconstructs facial and body defects, which is often medically necessary. Choosing the correct words and definitions is especially important with this class of operative procedures.
Consumers often misapply terms, and the industry adds to the confusion by conflating the two disciplines. Free plastic surgery is feasible because, unlike cosmetic procedures, it does more than reshape healthy tissue to enhance appearance: insurance often approves benefits.
Breast Reduction
Medicaid could pay for plastic surgery for breast reductions. A claim adjuster might look at two main criteria when determining the medical necessity for mammoplasty procedures that remove excess breast fat, glandular tissue, and skin that causes pain, numbness, or irritation.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is under 35; otherwise, you are too heavy for approval and need to lose weight first
- The symptoms fit into recognized ICD codes for breast reduction approvals
- 9:611.1 postural backaches
- 9:724-5 upper back and neck pain
- 9:695.89 skin fold irritation (intertrigo or dermatitis)
- 9:782.0 ulnar nerve numbness
However, Gynecomastia (breast reduction surgery for men) rarely meets the eligibility requirements because man boobs are seldom large enough to qualify.
Deviated Septum
Medicaid may pay for plastic surgery to correct a deviated septum because a crooked nasal airway represents a facial defect that impairs breathing. A claims administrator might pre-certify a septoplasty for one of these medically necessary reasons.
- Trauma to the septum leads to deformity
- Reconstruction after surgical nasal excisions: tumors, polyps, or ethmoid bone
- Deviated septum that leads to medical disabilities: recurrent pus-filled sinusitis, deformity or nasal spur with significant airway obstruction, recurrent nose bleeds, facial pain originating from the nasal area, impending septal perforation, or obstructive sleep apnea
Medicaid Weight Loss Surgery
Medicaid typically covers weight loss surgery and related procedures. However, in addition to the three main precertification rules, you must factor in a fourth consideration – is the recommended method experimental.
- Least costly: diet and exercise programs did not shed the excess pounds, and the type of bariatric surgery is not more expensive than alternate treatments
- Medically necessary: Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or greater combined with comorbidity: diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol
- Regional rules: twenty-three states have insurance mandates for weight loss procedures that might apply to public plans
- Not experimental: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services deems specific procedure as unproven and will not honor claims
Given the complex criteria, the patient’s ability to gather the appropriate documentation determines how long Medicaid takes to approve the weight loss surgery. It could take weeks, months, or years depending on how well you and your doctor present the case.