Lipedema Liposuction

Lipedema, Obesity, Symmetrical limb enlargement, adiposa dolorosa

Lipedema is a disorder that is frequently misdia­gnosed and almost exclusive to women, it is char­ac­ter­ised by painful depos­ition of fat (adipose) tissue under the skin in the upper and lower extremities. There is often a familial tend­ency in Lipedema.

The depos­ition is often symmetric, progressive and spares the ankle and feet and gener­ally spares the hands in the upper limb, the cuff sign is seen when the fat deposits begin abruptly over the ankle region.

The onset of this problem can begin with the menstrual cycle or around preg­nancy or meno­pause. The exact cause of this problem is not known.

As the problem worsens the skin overlying these areas bruises very easily and can go from smooth to bumpy to looking like an orange peel with folds on it. Lipedema is also asso­ci­ated with over­loading on the knee and other lower limb joints, discom­fort due to rubbing of the inner thigh. The areas of fatty deposit are often painful. It can also have a severe impact on the patients mental well­being due to dispro­por­tion­ately large disfig­uring enlarge­ment of hips and limbs compared to the rest of the torso.

While commonly confused with obesity, it is very diffi­cult or nearly impossible to lose weight from Lipedema affected limbs by dieting. When asso­ci­ated with Obesity, Lymphedema can develop in the later stages of Lipedema.

Lipedema can often be confused with condi­tions like Lymphedema, Benign Lipohypertrophy, Dercum’s disease.