Having undergone my fair share of surgeries with local anesthetics (a few general ones too), I can definitely vouch for the physical pain. I have to admit howev

Having undergone my fair share of surgeries with local anesthetics (a few general ones too), I can definitely vouch for the physical pain. I have to admit however that it wasn't directly in the targeted area, but rather in the surrounding area. One example, I had surgery done around my cheek-bone area and one of the tools they used was some sort of soldering iron. The heat propagating and the pretty drastic changes in skin tension were absolutely noticeable and painful. They asked me right before the surgery if I wanted drugs to help but decided against it. Instead, I ended up talking to the staff throughout the entire surgery, got them to explain what they were doing and, perhaps surprisingly, it was a very pleasant experience overall. The distraction definitely helps with the pain. Another example, I went through a number of inner ear surgeries. One of the tools they use produces an insanely strident noise, designed in part to expand your eardrum to its limits (IIRC). Even with the local anesthetic, it felt like somebody was drilling through my head. I can't quite describe the pain, but it's the worst thing I've ever had to go through (many times at that). I doubt that sheer anxiety could produce this level of physical pain. So from my admittedly anecdotal evidence, I would tend to agree with the article.