The use of epinephrine in breast surgery

Abstract

Preoperative infiltration of dilute epinephrine 1:1,000,000 combined with 1/3% xylocaine is gaining acceptance as a standard technique in breast surgery. The principle of injecting large volumes of xylocaine epinephrine solutions into the breast applies to breast reduction, mas-topexy, and breast augmentation. Blood losses are cut to half in breast reductions done using this technique, and opioid consumption postoperatively is also one-half [1, 2]. This solution allows mastopexy and breast augmentation to be done as an office procedure when combined with intravenous sedation techniques [3, 4]. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.