Dermatologic Surgery
Safety of liposuction using exclusively tumescent local anesthesia in 3,240 consecutive cases.
Habbema L. Dermatologic Surgery. 2009;35:1728-1735.
Though the use of tumescent anesthesia for liposuction is considered safe, when combined with IV meds, general anesthesia or when guidelines for safe use are not followed, this otherwise safe method has resulted in negative outcomes, including death. The author designed this study to clinically evaluate the safety of tumescent anesthesia with liposuction to settle rising uncertainties regarding safety. To determine if liposuction using local anesthesia is safe, the author examined a series of 3240 patients he performed the technique on. There were no complications reported that required hospitalization and, importantly, no deaths. Provided guidelines for the use of tumescent local anesthesia are followed, the author found that this technique is proven to be safe.
Publication available in Wiley’s Online Library at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1524-4725.2009.01284.x/abstract