Would depend on the context the general anaesthetic is suggested for.

Tooth out. Probably not

Bowel resection. Yes

General is completely unnecessary for that type of procedure. Using local she won't feel a thing. Although general is normally very safe, the risks are obviously far greater than local, and I would be surprised if a doctor would allow it for such a minor procedure.

Can your dd have any support with her fear of kneedles. A general will take longer to recover from but she will need to cooperate with a local.

I had a dental operation as a teenager which could have been done under general or local. Eventually I decided that all the things I was scared of for a local (most specifically, needles and pain) would be just the same with a general. I made it very clear how scared I was, and I was allowed something (diazepam? Triazepam? something anyway) to take the night before and the morning of the op, and I was high as a kite and completely fine with local anaesthetic. No fear at all, I was just impressed with the dentist's whizzy whizzy magic chair, and found the drill hilarious.

So I vote local, with some calming drugs.

Most peoples side effects from general anaesthetic is nausea (which is actually caused by the pain relief). If she doesnt NEED GA I would go with LA (and I say that as someone who works in the NHS but is massively needle (and pain) phobic. Most hospitals have an “anaesthetic review” clinic that the surgeon or preop nurse can refer into where the patient meets an anaesthetist and they can go through all the risks of LA vs GA and side effects and she can make an informed decision from the medical professional as to whats best for her in her condition, for her surgery. Really dont leave it up to peoples experiences on the internet. Get her to speak to the secretary and ask for the consultant to ref to anaesthetic clinic!

I had general a few weeks ago for surgery.

I was horrendously sick on waking up and had to be given anti nausea drugs (which hurt a lot). This is a common side effect I believe.

It also made my head really fuzzy and for about 24 hours I couldn't speak very well. I also have little to no memory of the hours before and after the surgery.

Then, in all honesty it took me days if not weeks to recover fully. I was exhausted all the time and sleeping lots.

A chemist friend told me it takes about six weeks for the GA drugs to completely leave your system.

Way more health risks with GA and a tougher recovery.

With local you honestly won't feel a thing. I would do that if local was offered.

Pros & cons will depend on things like exactly where it is/whether it's infected/how big it is. Presumably if they've offered it under local then they think all those things are fine. If she's just worried about pain with the local injection then using one of the topical anaesthetics (EMLA/Ametop) may help (so long as the surgeons are happy). Other things to think about - she wouldn't need to fast if she's having it done with local.

GA for a normal weight, fit and healthy 15 year old is generally low risk (but as with every medical procedure it's not no risk). Most anaesthetists would probably do an IV induction as their usual anaesthetic for a 15 year old (because it's generally quicker & smoother) so she wouldn't necessarily completely avoid the needles but a gas induction may be possible. She almost certainly wouldn't be getting long acting opioids for an operation that doesn't actually need a GA so nausea due to strong painkillers would be less of an issue than people above suggest. The recovery from a day case anaesthetic is short, but it does still take a bit of time - she probably wouldn't be back to school the next day (depending on the time of the op) - this may be something to consider (a little bit) if it's a significant school year for her.

Most places are pretty flexible - with advanced notice that she's nervous it may be possible to negotiate plan A being local, but for her to also see an anaesthetist before going to theatre so that if plan A fails they can switch to doing a GA without needing to come back another day.

Hope that helps.

Surgery was about 2 hours - laproscopic rather than open surgery so recovery was easier, but I was still off work for 3 weeks and house bound for about 1 week.

I wouldn't be surprised if hilarious' chemist friend was right - I felt tired for weeks and everyone told me it was the GA