Since the beginning of the 20th century, the first attempts have been made to medically remove disturbing fat deposits. However, these were not crowned with success. Rather, the incisions were too large and large parts of the skin were removed, the wounds healed poorly and left the patient with large scars.
In addition, the poor hygienic conditions at that time – in addition to the wound healing disorder – were responsible for infections. In the course of time, many physicians tried to find a technique for liposuction, but many failed: In 1921, the Frenchman Charles Dujarrier injured a Parisian dancer while trying to remove fat from her knee and calf. He used instruments that were too sharp, with which he injured the dancer at a femoral artery.
As a result, the leg had to be amputated. A few decades later – in 1964 – the German plastic surgeon Josef Schrudde began combining his instruments with a suction function. However, this technique was not as mature and led to severe bruising, accumulation of wound fluid, high blood loss and serious infections in the patient.
Starting in 1970, the Swiss plastic surgeons Meyer and Kesselring added a stronger suction function to the sharp instruments. However, this did not bring any significant improvements – the side effects remained. Frenchman Yves-Gerard Illouz pioneered the concept of tunneling the fatty tissue in 1977, using for the first time not sharp instruments but a thin blunt cannula.
In addition, a certain amount of liquid was injected before the procedure in order to be able to better aspirate the tissue later. This new procedure spared the tissue blood circulation and prevented the fatty tissue from separating from the underlying tissue. This technique has been refined over time.
Initially it was only used in patients with large adipose tissue tumors, but later it was also used to treat aesthetic problems. However, even here the blood losses were so high that the patients were put under anesthesia and the losses were compensated with blood transfusions. In the 1970s, the Italian Arpad Fischer and his son Giorgio developed a motorized suction cannula that crushed the fatty tissue, making it easy to remove.
However, this also led to serious complications. The breakthrough came with the development of the tumescent technique, pioneered by the Frenchman Fournier and the American Geoffrey Klein. Subsequently, the Italian Gasparotti developed superficial liposuction.
Since then, the techniques have been improved more and more and new developments have been made. However, these have not yet been sufficiently evaluated. Of many plastic surgeons, the tumescent technique is still the most frequently used.
