REVIEW CME MOC Shannon Wu, BA Demetrius M. Coombs, MD Raffi Gurunian, MD, PhD Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Resident Physician, Department of Plastic Staff Surgeon, Department of Plastic Surgery, Medicine of Case Western Reserve Surgery, Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, University, Cleveland, Ohio Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Clinic; Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio Liposuction: Concepts, safety, and techniques in body-contouring surgery ABSTRACT uction-assisted lipectomy, more com S monly known as liposuction, is an outpa- Liposuction is the second most commonly performed tient procedure that removes adipose tissue cosmetic surgery in the United States and the most com- from the subcutaneous space with the goal of mon surgical procedure in patients between the ages achieving a more desirable body contour. It is of 35 and 64; practitioners of medicine and surgery will the second most commonly performed cosmetic undoubtedly encounter these patients in their practice. surgery in the United States and the most com- This brief review discusses the role of liposuction and fat mon surgical procedure in patients between the transfer in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, as well as ages of 35 and 64.1 In 2018, surgeons performed key considerations, indications, and safety concerns. 258,558 liposuction procedures, a 5% increase from 2017.2 The number of liposuction proce- KEY POINTS dures increased 124% from 1997 to 2015.3 Liposuction is advantageous in that the re- The most common area for fat removal is between the moval of fat cells limits future deposition of fat inframammary fold and gluteal fold—namely, the ab- in those areas.4 Ultimately, liposuction allows domen, flanks, trochanteric region, lumbar region, and plastic surgeons to semipermanently redis- gluteal region. tribute volume in accordance with a patient’s ideal, and with lower complication, morbidity, Liposuction is increasingly being used as an adjunct and mortality rates than with other surgical to enhance other aesthetic procedures such as breast procedures. augmentation, cervicoplasty, abdominoplasty, gluteal fat In addition to its utility for purely aesthetic transfer, and body contouring after bariatric surgery. purposes, liposuction is an important adjunct in reconstructive surgery, particularly of the breast and face, when harvested fat is autologously re- Gluteal fat transfer, popularly called the “Brazilian butt injected in these tissues. One particular proce- lift,” is an application of liposuction in which large dure rising in popularity and gaining significant volumes of fat are transferred from an undesirable area, attention in the media is gluteal fat grafting. such as the abdomen or inner thighs, to the buttocks. This article provides a general overview of liposuction, including its history, current tech- Noncosmetic indications include management of lipomas, niques, indications, and safety concerns. lipedema, and lipodystrophy syndromes. ■ HISTORY The most common complication is contour deformity. The first attempt at fat removal was by Dujarrier in 1921, who operated on the knees and calves of a dancer. Injury to the femoral artery led to 5 doi:10.3949/ccjm.87a.19097 amputation of the leg. In 1964, Schrudde cu- CLEVELAND CLINIC JOURNAL OF MEDICINE VOLUME 87 • NUMBER 6 JUNE 2020 367 Downloaded from www.ccjm.org on September 25, 2021. For personal use only. All other uses require permission. LIPOSUCTION Ideally, patients have adequate skin elasticity and are within 20% to 30% of their ideal body weight Figure 1. Left: Preoperative appearance of a 52-year-old man who presented for liposuction of localized adiposity within the abdomen and bilateral flanks. Right: The same patient 6 months later after removal of 1.4 L of adipose tissue. retted subcutaneous fat from a patient’s leg, but tonic saline solution and hyaluronidase into observed skin necrosis in 4 of 15 separate pa- adipose tissue before liposuction reduced hem- tients, in addition to hematoma and seroma.6 orrhagic risk.8 This type of hydrodissection, The era of modern liposuction began in similar to that used today, preserved neurovas- 1975 when Arpad and Fischer pioneered the cular bundles and enlarged the deep adipose use of blunt hollow cannulas and suction cu- layer for easier aspiration. rettage for liposuction on the outer thighs, but In 1983, Fournier used syringes instead of the patients ultimately experienced deforming mechanical suction for better control of nega- lymphorrhea.7 An important milestone was tive pressure.9 By 1987, Klein had developed reached in 1977 when Illouz developed the the tumescent technique—a type of local “wet technique,” in which injection of hypo- anesthesia infiltration that permitted the re- 368 CLEVELAND CLINIC JOURNAL OF MEDICINE VOLUME 87 • NUMBER 6 JUNE 2020 Downloaded from www.ccjm.org on September 25, 2021. For personal use only. All other uses require permission. WU AND COLLEAGUES moval of larger volumes of fat while reducing body contouring for postsurgical bariatric pa- bleeding.10 Toledo expanded the use of sy- tients (Figure 2 and Figure 3).18 Liposuction ringes to include various gauges and sizes for can also be used to promote gender-specific aspiration of adipose tissue in 1988.11 features.19 In women, the goals of liposuction In the early 1990s, the development of ul- are to promote shapely contours of the breasts, trasonographically guided liposuction by Zoc- waist, hip, and buttocks. In men, liposuction chi expanded the use of liposuction for pre- aims to achieve upper body dominance, such viously unfavorable, fibrous areas such as the as removing excess flank adipose tissue (“love buttocks.12,13 The development of minimally handles”). invasive, laser-assisted liposuction by Ap- felberg, also in 1992, prevented destruction ■ GLUTEAL FAT TRANSFER of neurovascular structures by cannulas and Gluteal fat transfer, popularly called the “Bra- promoted tissue tightening for an aesthetic 14 zilian butt lift,” is an application of liposuction result. Recently, the development of power- in which large volumes of fat are transferred assisted liposuction has further expanded and from an undesirable area, such as the abdomen improved this procedure, increasing the popu- 20 15 or inner thighs, to the buttocks. Fat is first larity and use of liposuction. removed by liposuction (the volume of which varies widely and remains largely based upon ■ COSMETIC INDICATIONS the patient’s preoperative anatomy) and is Liposuction is used to achieve body contouring then used to augment the contour of the but- by removing excess fat deposits in undesirable tocks commensurate with the patient’s desires areas of the body. Fat is suctioned from demar- and anatomic deficiencies.21,22 cated areas in the body amenable to contouring. High-volume fat transfer, defined as a vol- The most common area for fat removal is ume greater than 1,000 mL per buttock, has between the inframammary fold and gluteal historically been associated with a higher risk fold—namely, the abdomen, flanks, trochan- of infection at the graft site and seroma for- teric region, lumbar region, and gluteal region mation at the harvested site. Newer evidence More than (Figure 1). Other areas of fat removal include suggests high-volume buttock fat transfer may the breasts (eg, breast reduction surgery), be safe and effective with proper technique.23 26,000 gluteal thighs, and calves. Thus, the contour is improved in both the do- fat transfer The site of incision is an important ana- nor region, such as the waist, and the recipient procedures tomic consideration, and the surgeon should region. select regions where the surgical scar, although The popularity of gluteal fat transfer is were modest, can be hidden by clothing, as well as rapidly increasing due to shifting beauty stan- performed locations conducive to broad fanning of the dards in American culture and attention from cannula during the procedure. celebrity figures. More than 26,000 gluteal fat in 2018 There are 5 zones in which superficial sub- transfer procedures were performed in 2018, cutaneous tissues adhere to underlying deep a 16% increase from the previous year, and a fascia of muscle: the lateral gluteal depression, 132% increase from 2013.3,24 However, reports gluteal crease, distal posterior thigh, midmedial of fatal pulmonary fat embolisms following in- thigh, and inferolateral iliotibial tract. Because jury to gluteal veins and an estimated mortal- these zones define the natural shape of the body, ity rate of 1 in 3,000 from this procedure war- suctioning from these areas increases the risk rant continued investigation about its safety of contour deformities.16 Ideally, patients have and ideal technique.25 adequate skin elasticity and are within 20% to The Multi-Society Gluteal Fat Grafting 30% of their ideal body weight to achieve de- Task Force26 was established to investigate and sired aesthetic outcomes.17 improve patient safety of this procedure, and Liposuction is also increasingly being used current research including anatomic studies as an adjunct to enhance other aesthetic pro- as well as educational symposia are ongoing. cedures such as breast augmentation, cervico- Risks and alternative methods such as gluteal plasty, abdominoplasty, gluteal fat transfer, and implants must be discussed with the patient CLEVELAND CLINIC JOURNAL OF MEDICINE VOLUME 87 • NUMBER 6 JUNE 2020 369 Downloaded from www.ccjm.org on September 25, 2021. For personal use only. All other uses require permission. LIPOSUCTION Fat harvested in liposuction can be used Figure 2. Left: A 38-year-old woman who presented with excess skin and adiposity of the anterior abdomen and excess adipose tissue in the bilateral upper back and hips. Right: to ‘lipofill’ The same patient 5 months later after full cosmetic abdominoplasty and liposuction of the bilateral upper back and hip areas (with a total of 2 L of tissue removed), illustrating that in breast these procedures may be combined safely and yield satisfying results. reconstruction, burns, and scars before this procedure.