“Doctor, I’ve never worn compression stockings,” (9/10)

“Doctor, I’ve never worn compression stockings,”
“I’ve seen several doctors who said I don’t have anything wrong,”
“they say the surgery I want to have doesn’t exist”
“I feel pain and have bruises, and they say I’m making it up,”
“people keep staring at my legs,”
“I lose weight but the appearance doesn’t change,”
“I wear compression stockings but it doesn’t improve”
“I work out and don’t see any results,”
“the belly gets toned but the legs stay the same”

I have heard all these phrases from women who seek me out in my office with #lipedema. Many end up relieved just by knowing they found a diagnosis, that something was wrong. And also with the possibility of improving their quality of life and also aesthetics with treatment.

Lipedema is a disease that predominantly affects women, often manifesting from puberty, which leads to disproportionate fat accumulation in the ankles, calves, arms, thighs, and knees. There are some triggers such as hormones, diet, and stress. With the progression of the disease, it can evolve causing permanent swelling due to damage to the lymphatic vessels.

In addition to fat accumulation, skin stretching leads to #skin laxity especially in the thighs and buttocks.

We diagnose it through physical examination, with inspection and palpation of the regions, and some complementary tests such as MRI can also be performed.

Surgical treatment involves #tumescent liposuction of the tissues with thin cannulas using a technique that avoids excessive trauma. #laser or #lipolaser can be used to help improve laxity.

In more extreme cases, skin removal may be necessary (which we avoid to preserve lymphatic drainage).

It may be necessary to perform the surgery in 2 or more stages, either due to the progression of the disease or due to the impossibility of removing the total amount of fat in a single surgery.

Do you know someone who identifies with this description? Tag them here and share this post. Let’s make more women know that their problem has treatment 🥰😘

#lipoedema #lipo #lipohd #tumescentliposuction #liposuction

Dr. Caroline consults in English. Book your consultation by clicking the button below.

Originally published on Instagram on 26/03/2021: https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5uAgfgY0B/