Liposuction as a Treatment for Lipedema: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Surgical interventions
• Lymphedema and related disorders

Background:

• Lipedema is a progressive, symmetrical fat/fluid deposition disorder primarily affecting the lower body.
• It often follows an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.
• Current gold standard treatment involves complete decongestive therapy (manual lymphatic drainage and compression garments).

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of liposuction as an alternative treatment for lipedema.
• To review existing literature on liposuction outcomes for lipedema patients.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of literature from PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases.
• Inclusion criteria focused on human studies, specific study designs (case series, RCTs, etc.), patient-reported outcomes, and liposuction as the treatment modality.
• Studies required a minimum of 10 cases, 6-month follow-up, and adult participants.

Main Results:

• Thirteen studies were included in the review.
• Nine studies reported reduced reliance on compression therapy post-liposuction.
• Patients reported improvements in pain, mobility, bruising, and quality of life; serious adverse events were infrequent.

Conclusions:

• Liposuction shows potential as an alternative treatment for lipedema, particularly for patients unresponsive to compression therapy.
• More evidence is required to establish liposuction's efficacy compared to compression therapy for newly diagnosed lipedema patients.