“Can tonsillectomy be done under local anesthesia?”
My daughter has chronic tonsillitis and needs a tonsillectomy. Can tonsillectomy be done under local anesthesia?
2 Answers
I would say yes but it would have to be rather unusual to do it under local considering the safety of general anesthesia. I think it would be unusual for you to find an otolaryngologist who felt comfortable doing a local tonsil.
Hello, Having a tonsillectomy under local anesthesia is a very bad idea. The patient would experience excruciating pain during the procedure, and it is not safe, in my opinion. It would be extremely hard to anesthetized that area with local anesthetic requiring injections, which would be very painful themselves, I strongly recommend general anesthesia. Jeffrey C. Astbury, MD, FASA, FACC, FASE, MSBE, MSEE Vice Chairman of Cardiovascular Services Director of Perioperative Echocardiography Department of Anesthesiology Butler Health System Clinical Assistant Professor Lake Erie School of Osteopathic Medicine jastbury@zoominternet.net 412-849-6105
