The 'dry technique' of liposuction is an extremely dangerous one and has been largely abandoned. It involves the use of general anaesthesia even for small, localised removals of fat, already posing significant risks for the patient. Additionally, no liquid is injected into the fatty tissue before fat removal begins, rendering it strenuous for the surgeon to suction out.

The surgeon begins the procedure by putting the patient under general anaesthesia, preventing them from feeling any pain. He then makes an incision with a scalpel into the area that is to be treated and inserts a standard cannula through the entry site and into the fatty tissue. A cannula is a hollow, stainless steel tube which is used to break up fat cells and eventually suction them out. Two significant problems are presented with the dry technique. Firstly, in keeping with the technique's 'dry' name, no liquid is introduced into the patient's body, preventing the fat cells from separating themselves from other body tissues, such as muscle and capillaries. This makes it difficult for the surgeon to accurately remove fat without aggravating the surrounding tissue. In addition, the surgeon must move the cannula back and forth in order to break up the fat before it is removed. Unlike techniques which include the injection of the 'tumescent cocktail', the dry technique requires the surgeon to manually break up the fat, requiring the use of force. The cannula used in conjunction with this method is usually a standard size, not a microcannula (which is less than three millimetres in diameter). This again means more strain on the patient's body and a greater chance of destroying important surrounding tissues.