My son who has a lot of allergies is due an operation under general anaesthetic. he is allergic to local anaesthesia. do i need to worry?

Allergies: There is no necessary connection between allergies to local anaesthesia and general anaesthesia. He will have an assessment by the anaesthetist before the operation to assess his suitability for general anaesthesia. Discuss your concerns with the anaesthetist at that time.

Talk to surgeon: General anesthesia should be safe and is not the same drugs used for local anesthesia. However, the surgeon will frequently use a local anesthetic in a case under general. In addition, allergy to the "caines" is not that common. That needs to be followed up with an allergist who tests for local anesthetic allergy. There are two main groups and if he is allergic to one he can have the other.

Allergic: Reactions to local anesthetics commonly used in surgery Lidocaine and bupivacaine are extremely rare, usually problems with the manner injected or other chemicals in the solution are mistakenly attributed to an allergic reaction. The medications used in general anesthesia are completely different. An allergic reaction in the or with the anesthesiologist is relatively safe.

No: very rare a true "allergy" to a local anesthestic you can discuss with your anesthesia provider pre op

Local Anes Allergies: Although not completely without risk, general anesthesia in a young healthy patient is relatively safe. It is important to provide as much detail about your son's allergies ( food, drug and latex being the most important) to the Anesthesiologist in charge of his care. A history of a local anesthetic allergy will be of significant interest to the care team. Allergies of this nature are rare.

Local anesthetic: I agree with Dr. Fischer. Local anesthetic allergy is so rare that it's even questionable whether it exists at all. Sometimes the reaction was due to another ingredient in the mix like epinephrine. You could see an allergist to determine if there is a local anesthetic he can tolerate by a closely supervised test. I highly recommend it since these issues tend to come up time and time again.