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Comparative Analysis of Liposuction and Conservative Treatment in Lipedema Patients: A Modified Body-Q Questionnaire Study

Resource type
Title
Comparative Analysis of Liposuction and Conservative Treatment in Lipedema Patients: A Modified Body-Q Questionnaire Study
Abstract
Background: Despite its estimated high prevalence among women and increasing awareness, lipedema remains under-investigated. Ignoring its debilitating nature, surgical treatment for this condition is frequently covered by health insurance only in advanced stages and after the exhaustion of conservative therapies. Methods: A total of 1015 patients with lipedema were recruited via social media platforms. Of these, 860 patients provided answers to at least one complete section of the modified Body-Q questionnaire (response rate 85%). The Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were utilized to assess the impact of the surgical treatment by means of patient-reported outcomes on the self-perception of various body areas. Results: The satisfaction scores among conservatively treated patients for abdominal appearance, arms, back, body, buttocks, and inner thighs showed a statistically significant decline with increasing stages of lipedema. The comparison of patient evaluation scores in the appearance domain demonstrated better patient self-perception scores in patients who received at least one session of the surgical treatment for the hips and thighs (p < 0.01), inner thighs (p < 0.01), and excess skin (0.01) scales. On the body scale, the patients who underwent liposuction again reported better satisfaction scores; however, this did not reach statistical significance (p < 0.081). In the health-related quality of life domain, the patients who received liposuction treatment reported a better outcome in the body image (p < 0.01), physical function (p = 0.05), physical symptoms (p = 0.04), and psychological function (p < 0.01) scales. Conclusions: The current study underscores the burden of lipedema of affected patients and its negative impact on self-perception. As the disease progresses, conservatively treated patients experience a decline in satisfaction with various aspects of their appearance. However, surgical interventions, particularly liposuction, does not address esthetic concerns but significantly improve health-related quality of life across multiple domains, emphasizing the comprehensive benefits of surgical intervention in the management of lipedema.
Publication
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date
2025-01-06
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
279
Accessed
1/8/25, 3:28 PM
PMID
39797361
PMCID
PMC11721191
ISSN
2077-0383
Short Title
Comparative Analysis of Liposuction and Conservative Treatment in Lipedema Patients
Language
en
Library Catalog
Extra
Number: 1
Citation
Aitzetmüller-Klietz, M.-L., Ozturk, M., Seefeldt, T., Wiebringhaus, P., Wellenbrock, S. V., Tav, B., Hirsch, T., Harati, K., & Aitzetmüller-Klietz, M. (2025). Comparative Analysis of Liposuction and Conservative Treatment in Lipedema Patients: A Modified Body-Q Questionnaire Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(1), 279. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14010279
Publication