Should I sedate my cat to groom her?

My elderly cat (16) only weighs about 5 pounds and is VERY um, aggressive when it comes to brushing, as with any cat. But the reason I am considering that we bring her to a vet to sedate her to be shaved is because she is so frail. She grooms herself but gets golf ball sized hairballs everywhere, her hair comes out in large clumps sometimes so we decided maybe it's time to get a lion-cut for her. We would just comb her but were afraid she would break something in the struggle. Should we bring her to the vet?