Jeffrey Alan Klein, MD, MPH
Clinical Professor, Dermatology, UC Irvine, CA;
Dermatologic Surgeon, HK Dermatology, San Juan Capistrano, CA
In 1985 Jeffrey A. Klein, MD, invented the tumescent technique for local anesthesia consisting of dilute
subcutaneous Tumescent Epinephrine Lidocaine (TEL) for bloodless, painless liposuction totally by local
anesthesia. His results were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery in 1987.
Dr. Klein’s passionate interest has always been the clinical pharmacology of Tumescent Epinephrine Lidocaine and its medical and surgical applications. In 1989 he developed the first sterile tumescent infiltration tubing for use with an off-the-shelf laboratory peristaltic pump, which permitted power-assisted subcutaneous infiltration of large volumes of TEL. In 1990 he founded HK Surgical, Inc., a surgical device company focused on tumescent drug delivery (TDD) of lidocaine and many other injectable drugs. Dr. Klein has 30 US Patents, which include:
1) Painless, wide-ambit, pure-sensory regional TEL anesthesia for all forms of cutaneous surgery,
2) Pre-operative tumescent antibiotic (clindamycin, cefazolin, metronidazole) delivery for reducing
postoperative opioid requirements, and preventing both surgical site infections (SSI) and persistent postsurgical pain (PPP),
3) TDD of acyclovir for instant elimination the most severely painful cases of Herpes zoster, and
4) Self-injectable subcutaneous TDD of snake venom protease inhibitors for prehospital treatment of snakebite envenomation. The Klein Tumescent Infiltration Pump (KTIP) is HK Surgical’s fourth-generation peristaltic roller pump, designed specifically for high precision, painless intradermal, and subcutaneous TDD.
Jeff grew up surfing in San Clemente, California. When he graduated from UC Riverside (BA, Mathematics,
1967), he had saved $1000, which sustained him for the next 12 months. He hitchhiked to NYC, then worked on a freighter for passage to Europe. He studied in Paris for six months and witnessed the May 1968 student protests and nationwide strike. While hitching through Europe, he was in Prague during the invasion by the Soviet Union. Upon returning to California, he studied at UCSD (MS, Mathematics, 1971). He was admitted to the first class of the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (MD, 1972-1976). After an MPH degree from UC Berkeley (Biostatistics 1977), he did Internal Medicine (UCLA, 1977-1980, FACP), an NIH Clinical Pharmacology research fellowship (UCSF, 1980-81), and Dermatology (UC Irvine, 1981-1984, FAAD), American Board of Cosmetic Surgery certification (1989), and subspecialty board certification in Mohs surgery (2021). He is a clinical professor of Dermatology at UC Irvine. At work, he directs his dermatology practice, HK Surgical, Inc., and his own randomized clinical trials. At home, he is directed by Kathleen Hutton-Klein, MD (dermatologist), and their five children.