Textbook of Liposuction PDF

Preface to the English Edition

The first written description of the tumescent technique was published by Klein in 1987.The first book on Tumescent Local Anesthesia was published in German by Sattler, Sommer, and Hanke in 1999, and in English in 2000. Klein's comprehensive book Tumescent Technique was also published in 2000. Liposuction using tumescent local anesthesia is performed on patients who are totally conscious; general anesthesia or intravenous sedation is unnecessary; patients are awake and comfortable intraoperatively and postoperatively. Multiple large studies have reported complications to be minor and uncommon;no fatalities have been documented. Patients prefer the simplicity of liposuction using tumescent local anesthesia to the complexities of liposuction using general anesthesia. A number of books have been written on liposuction, but this one is different and unique in many ways.

First, it is the product of the German– American experience in performing liposuction using tumescent local anesthesia.Although invented in the United States, liposuction using tumescent local anesthesia has undergone significant development and refinement by Gerhard Sattler and his colleagues in Germany. Sattler initially learned about liposuction using tumescent local anesthesia at the ISDS Congress in Barcelona in 1987. He began treating patients with the new technique in 1989. Liposuction has been the centerpiece of the Live Surgery Symposium, an international postgraduate course held in Germany in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Tumescent local anesthesia has been applied to many new procedures by German physicians from various specialties.

Further, every liposuction surgeon knows that the most difficult aspects of the procedure to learn are the preoperative planning, patient positioning, incision placement, and cannula direction. A great strength of this book is the multitude of high-quality photographs which demonstrate these key concepts. It should be noted that the majority of the tunnels are made in the long axis of the body to avoid unnecessary injury to the lymphatics and neurovascular structures which lie within the fat septa.This minimizes postoperative morbidity and allows patients to return to normal activities within a few days.

Third, many new concepts and discoveries are presented. These include new indications for liposuction, new information on the science of tumescent local anesthesia, and a major advance, powered liposuction using reciprocating cannulas. With powered liposuction, patients can be treated more rapidly without discomfort. Patient and surgeon fatigure is reduced, and the results are better. However, a learning curve is required for the liposuction surgeon to make the transition from standard cannulas to powered cannulas. Another major advance has been the manually assisted skin stabilization technique (MASST). This technique is carried out by the nurse or first surgical assistant who applies manual circumferential pressure to the skin during suctioning.The MASST helps to minimize tissue trauma and encourages precise, uniform fat removal.

The editors and authors of this book hope that physicians will utilize the information presented to maximize patient safety and satisfaction with the tumescent liposuction technique.