Long-term local anesthesia is provided by administering to a subject in
need thereof a liposomal anesthetic formulation prepared by the dehydration-rehydration
method. In this method, lyophilized liposomes encapsulating the local anesthetic
are rehydrated by agitating them in an aqueous medium. Preferably this method includes
the further step of washing the rehydrated liposomes in hyperosmotic saline solution.
