What is lipedema?
Lipedema is a clinical entity that basically affects women, and consists of an alteration in the distribution of fat. This fat accumulates abnormally and symmetrically mainly from the hips to the ankles, being confused with obesity or other types of edema. Occasionally, it can also affect the arms.
Lipedema can be confused with lymphedema (edema of lymphatic origin). They can coexist, but lipedema does not result in lymphedema.
Women with lipedema may also suffer from venous return circulation disorders which in turn cause edema.
Differences between lipedema and cellulitis
Lipedema and cellulite are related but different processes. Cellulite or orange peel skin is the manifestation of the way in which superficial fat is structured with fibrous septa that anchor the skin to deep structures. Whenever there is lipedema there is cellulite, but there can be cellulite without lipedema.
What symptoms does lipedema cause?
- Disproportionate increase in volume between the legs and the rest of the body, which alters the shape of the silhouette: swollen legs.
- Heaviness.
- Hypersensitivity to pain at small pressures: this is why it is sometimes called painful fat syndrome.
- Capillary fragility with hematomas in case of slight traumatism.
The first signs appear at puberty and worsen gradually, these changes being greater with hormonal changes.
How is lipedema diagnosed?
When lipedema is suspected, an appropriate medical evaluation should be performed and the presence of other pathologies that cause edema, such as vascular edema, lymphatic edema or others of general cause, should be ruled out.
Can lipedema be treated?
Weight loss will not significantly reduce lipedema, but it does treat the overweight and obesity that may accompany it.
Physical treatments that should be assessed can help improve the volume as well as the pain clinic:
- Compression stockings: these are essential and should always be part of the treatment, since they maintain the effects achieved with drainage and fat removal techniques.
- Manual lymphatic drainage.
- Pressotherapy.
- Mesotherapy.
- Radiofrequency.
However, there is only one technique that definitively eliminates this accumulation of fat and that is liposuction.
In liposuction, fat is removed by suction with cannulas through small incisions. Depending on the amount of fat to be removed, from 1 to 4 interventions must be performed, being the average 3 surgeries (each one separated by 6 months). In this way the volume is reduced and the shape of the legs is restored.
During the postoperative period a compression garment must be worn for 6 weeks, and the definitive result can be appreciated after 4 months.