This is my reality: Lipedema, known as Lipoedema in Europe, is a chronic disorder of the adipose tissue generally affecting the legs, which causes the legs, and sometimes the arms, but not the feet, to accumulate fatty tissue.[1] It is distinguishable by five characteristics: 1) it can be inherited; 2) it occurs almost exclusively in women; 3) it can occur in women of all sizes, from the seriously underweight to the morbidly obese; 4) it involves the excess deposit and expansion of fat cells in an unusual and particular pattern – bilateral, symmetrical and usually from the waist to a distinct line just above the ankles; and 5) unlike the typical fat of obesity, lipedemic fat generally cannot be lost through diet and exercise. Though there is debate about surgery as an intervention, there are surgeons in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. achieving success with medical liposuction. A specialized form of liposuction, usually performed with tumescent local anesthesia, one of the nuances is to ensure integrity of the lymphatic system while removing lipedemic adipose tissue. Patients tend to gain weight in lipedemic areas and lose it in non-lipedemic areas, though there are cases where weight loss has resulted in improvement of the condition. Obese lipedema patients who undergo bariatric surgery lose fat primarily from the waist up. Symptoms of lypedemia include disproportionately large, column-like legs. As lipedema progresses, patients become increasingly heavy in the lower body. The additional, expanding fat cells interfere with the pathways of lymphatic vessels, and patients can develop secondary lymphedema, a condition known as lipo-lymphedema. Many lipedema patients cannot tolerate the compression garments associated with conventional lymphedema treatment because the underlying lipedemic fat is very painful, and those patients therefore are at risk for the side effects of uncontrolled lymphedema, including recurring blood infections and fibrosis. If not kept in check through a healthy lifestyle the condition can worsen, and patients will become progressively less mobile.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 06:01:47 +0000
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