Tumescent local anesthesia has been in news for the last many years because it offers safe and bloodless surgery. It is a very popular local anesthesia among surgeons worldwide who practise cosmetic surgeries like Gynecomastia Surgery, liposuction, abdominoplasty or other body contouring surgeries. The word 'tumescent' means swollen or turgid. The technique involves infiltrating solution of very dilute lidocaine and epinephrine, in large volumes, in the target area to bring about prolonged tissue and skin anaesthesia.
Tumescent technique was invented by Dr Jeffrey Klein in 1985. He published the technique in the Journal of American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery in 1987. Ever since, it has virtually transformed the safety aspects of cosmetic surgeries. In my experience of over 3000 gynecomastia surgery procedures and the equal number of liposuctions or body contouring surgeries on…
