Increasing the Safety Profile of Follicular Unit Extraction by Eliminating the Use of Bupivacaine and Nerve Block: Experience from a Tertiary Care Center of North India

The study, conducted on 30 patients with androgenetic alopecia, aimed to determine if follicular unit extraction (FUE) could be performed effectively without the use of nerve blocks and bupivacaine. Instead, lignocaine with adrenaline was used as an anesthetic, injected intradermally in the donor and recipient areas. The total amount of lignocaine with adrenaline used during the surgery ranged from 6.1 ml to 8.5 ml, with an average of 7.6 ml. The average duration of the surgery was 6.5 hours. No patients experienced pain during the surgery, and there were no significant side effects related to anesthetic administration. The study concluded that lignocaine with adrenaline is a safe and effective anesthetic for FUE, and the exclusion of bupivacaine and nerve blocks can increase the safety of the procedure, especially for beginners and in cases where the area to be covered is not extensive.