Lidocaine v Bupivacaine in Facial Plastic Surgery: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

• The ideal local anesthetic agent for facial plastic surgery should have rapid onset, good surgical anesthesia, and reasonably long duration. The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare 1% lidocaine hydrochloride with 1:200,000 epinephrine with 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride with 1:200,000 epinephrine, a newer, longer-acting local anesthetic, in different facial operations. The results suggest that bupivacaine is an effective and safe agent for these procedures. (Arch Otolaryngol 1984;110:525-528)