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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

CO2-Lasertonsillotomy Under Local Anesthesia in Adults
Published on: November 6, 2019
Complications of minor skin surgery performed under local anesthesia
Avshalom Shalom1, Melvyn Westreich, Eran Hadad
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel. fredricag@asaf.health.gov.il
Background:
Minor surgical procedures performed under local anesthesia are the most common surgical procedures routinely carried out in every plastic surgical practice.
Objective:
The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of immediate local and systemic complications of such procedures.
Methods And Materials:
Records of 2,600 procedures performed under local anesthesia on 2,431 patients between November 2001 and May 2004 were reviewed. Local anesthetic complications and all surgical-related complications were recorded.
Results:
Procedure-related complications were 51 presyncope (1.9%), 4 true syncope (0.16%), 2 minor burns (0.08%), and 1 facial laceration (0.04%).
Conclusions:
True allergic reaction to lidocaine is extremely rare and none was noted in our study. Most patients who claimed that they had suffered from such a reaction were probably experiencing symptoms related to intravenous injection administration, a reaction to the added vasoconstrictor (adrenaline), or a vasovagal reaction, which is a common trait among young adults.
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