Liposuction (also known as Lipoplasty and Lipectomy) in Europe is often mistaken as being an import from the United States. In fact, the surgeons credited with the invention of Liposuction are all European. The first recorded case of Liposuction was performed on a famous French model by Dr. Charles Dujarier in the early 1920s, when he manually cut out sections of fat with a scalpel. Unfortunately, a crippling case of gangrene resulted in the patient's death, and for decades to follow, interest in body contouring fell further and further into the background.

In 1974, gynaecologist Giorgio Fischer performed Liposuction on a patient using a curette, a tool similar to a cannula. The curette was open-ended and used to scrape fatty tissue away before it was removed by a suction apparatus. Although more successful than Dr. Dujarier's attempt, this new Liposuction method still resulted in uneven skin texture and significant blood loss. The sharp tip at the end of the curette also caused unnecessary nerve damage and removal of healthy muscle tissue. Four years later, in 1978, French doctors Yves-Gerard Illouz and Pierre-Francois Fournier adjusted Dr. Fischer's method by using a blunt-tipped cannula. The improvements were immediately appreciated in the form of a shorter recovery period and less blood loss. After some time, Dr. Illouz began injecting the patient's fatty tissue with saline solution, expanding it and ultimately making it easier for the surgeon to suction out. It was during this time that American surgeons began travelling to Europe to watch the 'Illouz Technique'. Shortly thereafter, Liposuction as a purely cosmetic procedure was introduced in the United States.