Application of the tumescent technique to hand augmentation

The harvesting of fat for autologous implantation into the hands via the tumescent technique is presented. The tumescent technique, which involves the administration of large volumes of dilute local anesthetic into the donor site, results in low serum concentrations of anesthetic and produces long-lasting anesthesia while providing vasoconstriction and a firmness of the subcutaneous compartment ideal for lipoextraction. The tumescent technique has proven to be an important advance in reduction liposuction surgery. We describe our experience with the tumescent technique as applied to microlipoinjection for hand augmentation of aged and sun-damaged skin.