Sterile topical lignocaine jelly in plastic surgery: an assessment of its systemic toxicity.

Topical local anaesthesia offers an important adjunct to several plastic surgery procedures, provided that it does not cause systemic toxicity or prevent the healing process. Absorption of a sterile topical lignocaine jelly was assessed in patients undergoing treatment of skin graft donor sites, flap donor sites and burns. There was a marked degree of absorption only in patients with thermal burns, in which case it depended on the surface area of the wound; although no toxic effects due to absorption were noted, caution in dosage is advisable. No complications of healing attributable to the preparation used were encountered.