Investigation of Abdominoplasty Without General Anesthesia: A Scoping Review

Introduction: Abdominoplasty is a common aesthetic surgical procedure primarily performed under general anesthesia (GA). However, GA is aerosol-generating and involves extended immobilization associated with systemic complications like venous thromboembolisms (VTEs). There is increasing interest in performing abdominoplasties without GA because of potential lower complication rates and shorter postoperative recovery time. This review sought to summarize all available literature on the safety and outcomes of abdominoplasty performed without GA. Methods: A scoping review was conducted with no date limits in October 2023 encompassing Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL. The type of anesthesia was separated into 3 categories: conscious or intravenous (IV) sedation, regional anesthetic blocks (RAB: spinal and epidural), and local anesthesia (direct local infiltration and field blocks). Results: A total of 28 studies were included. Safety data was reported for abdominoplasty alone (n = 6), with liposuction (n = 14), or both (n = 1). The employed anesthesia methods were IV and local (n = 13), RAB and local (n = 3), IV and RAB (n = 2), IV and RAB and local (n = 2), and IV only (n = 1). A total of 48 379 patients were identified, with 30 cases of VTEs reported. Two studies reported GA conversion rates between 4.8% and 6.0%. A total of 11 studies assessed abdominoplasty outcomes, highlighting high patient satisfaction and low postoperative pain. The majority of analyzed studies had a "high" or "critical" risk of bias. Conclusion: Our review provides preliminary evidence that performing abdominoplasty without GA is safe and feasible. Additional high-quality studies are necessary to further validate our findings and to develop a standardized approach.