“Is local anesthesia safe for adolescents?”

Local anesthetics are definitely safe for adolescents and are often superior for pain control than narcotics and their associated side effects.

Local anesthesia is safe to use in virtually any patient. It involves the injection or application of a local anesthetic (numbing drug) to the site of the procedure. There are limits to the amount of local that a patient can receive but these are generous.

The question asked specifically about a 12 year old patient. Whether such a patient can tolerate the injection and subsequent surgical experience awake depends upon the level of maturity. Pre- or early adolescence is a variable time in an individual's development. Not all will be able to tolerate the experience.

Local anesthesia without sedation involves not only the application of injection of the drug either of which can be uncomfortable but also some stimulation from whatever procedure will then be performed. For example, the injection of numbing local anesthesia fro the removal of a skin lesion would likely burn. Thereafter the patient would likely feel no pain from the incision but may feel pressure or tugging on the skin. Not everyone will tolerate such an experience.

It is, theoretically. It all depends how "mature" your 12-year old is to cope with the fact that he/she is awake for the surgery.

Without knowing the type of surgery that your teenager would be having, it is difficult to say whether local anesthetic would be safe for your teenager. Local anesthetics are generally safe for teenagers if they are not allergic to the medications or have disease conditions that affect the metabolism of local anesthetics.

Definitely

Local anesthetics as drugs are "safe" for any age group if used appropriately.  Their "safety" is mostly dependent on the knowledge and skill of the person administering them.

Steven Dain

It is safe. Some adolescents tolerate being awake for surgical procedures better than others and without knowing what type of surgery you are asking about, that is difficult to assess.

From Christopher Creighton

Yes. Local anesthesia is safe for adolescents. The surgeon can give local anesthesia in the wound at the end of the procedure or the anesthesiologist can do a nerve block either at the beginning or the end of the procedure. Local anesthesia can be given along with general anesthesia or with intravenous sedation. If sedation is given, the patient is usually breathing on their own with some supplemental oxygen through a face mask or nasal cannula. Sometimes an oral premedication (Versed) is given before the start of anesthesia or sedation to decrease anxiety.

Yes. Just has to be dosed properly given height and weight.

All anesthesias has risks. But local is less risky