History of Liposuction

Techniques in liposuction have evolved considerably from the curetting technique used by Dujarrier in 1921 to the present use of third generation ultrasound assisted liposuction. The development of modern liposuction is credited to father and son gynecologists, Arpad and Giorgio Fischer, who in 1974 invented the cannula. French doctors Illouz and Fournier further improvised the procedure around 1978 by introducing the use of saline solution and local anesthetics and the concept of compression. By 1980, liposuction became very popular.

However, it was going up against negative reputation because of patients encountering unreasonable blood loss and unfortunate undulating of the skin after surgery.

In 1985, Dr. Jeffrey A. Klein, a dermatologist based out of California, created the tumescent strategy for liposuction, which enabled patients to have liposuction performed under local anesthesia utilizing significantly smaller cannulas. Patients could now have liposuction surgery without the dread of massive blood draining and unfortunate skin issues.

With the change in surgical techniques, newer devices were devised in an attempt to improve the ease and safety profile of liposuction. Power assisted liposuction (PAL) was developed by Rebelo. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) was developed by MichaelZocchi in 1992. Since first being introduced in 1998 by Columbian surgeons Drs. Rodrigo and Clara Neira, laser liposuction has drawn a great deal of attention. The most recent addition has been water‑jet assisted liposuction; which was devised by Taufig in 2000.

The liposuction procedure has evolved over the years and is now considered to be a very safe procedure when performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon using the latest technologies available. The statistics now prove that Liposuction is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery in the world.