Safety Profile of Facial Cosmetic Surgery Under Local Anesthesia, with or without Sedation: A Systematic…

Meta-analysisAesthetic plastic surgery· Aug 2026

Safety Profile of Facial Cosmetic Surgery Under Local Anesthesia, with or without Sedation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Emmanuel Giannas, Luke S Jones, Maria Kalogeromitros … Patrick Assi

Aesthetic & Cosmetic SurgeryMeta-analysisClinical practiceQ1IF 2.2

Facial cosmetic surgery under local anesthesia has low complication rates.

Safety Profile of Facial Cosmetic Surgery Under Local Anesthesia, with or without Sedation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Emmanuel Giannas … Patrick Assi

Aesthetic plastic surgery · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Surgery

Background

Facial aesthetic surgery is increasingly performed under local anesthesia, with or without sedation, in office-based settings.

Purpose

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the safety profile of such procedures by measuring the incidence of complications following facial cosmetic surgery under local anesthesia, with or without sedation.

Methods

A systematic review of the literature was performed in line with the PRISMA guidelines.

n = 3283

Results

about 1 in 18 procedures had a complication, overall complication rate stayed low

Total complications

5.6%

Major complications

1.6%

Minor complications

3.7%

More results

The incidence of major complications was 1.6%, 95% CI [0.1, 4.3], while minor complications occurred in 3.7%, 95% CI [2.0, 5.7], of cases.

Combined facial aesthetic procedures were uncommon, with 9% of patients undergoing multiple procedures in the same operative setting.

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Conclusion · 1 of 3

Facial cosmetic surgery under local anesthesia, with or without sedation, appears to be associated with a low incidence of complications.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

Combined procedures were uncommon, indicating that operative scope in these settings is generally limited.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

Substantial heterogeneity among studies underscores the need for standardized definitions of complications, anesthetic protocols, and evidence-based patient selection criteria.

Safety Profile of Facial Cosmetic Surgery Under Local Anesthesia, with or without Sedation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Safety Profile of Facial Cosmetic Surgery Under Local Anesthesia, with or without Sedation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

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