Meet Kristy, a thirty-one-year-old patient from Queensland, who says she first heard about Lipoedema from a fitness influencer on Instagram in 2021. “When I heard her explain her symptoms, I immediately knew that I had Lipoedema too.”
Kristy says she first noticed that her lower body was always bigger than her top half at age thirteen. Despite a very active lifestyle throughout high school, her lower body continued to remain out of proportion to her top half. Attributing this to her regular swimming, Kristy didn’t notice anything further until she began having children. At that point, she says her legs ‘exploded in size’ especially after the birth of her daughter – “It was like walking in lead boots constantly.” Kristy says that despite how well she ate or how hard she trained, the weight on her legs just wouldn’t shift. Kristy says she also notices similar Lipoedema symptoms in family members.
As Kristy’s children grew and became active, Kristy says it became harder and more painful to keep up with them. Family trips to theme parks became devastating when her thighs couldn’t fit within the rides. “As hard as I was trying nothing would budge, I felt like a failure” Kristy says.
After researching online, Kristy came across Lipoedema Surgical Solution and booked a consultation, where her Lipoedema diagnosis was confirmed. Following her diagnosis, Kristy underwent eight months of conservative management, in order to prepare for surgery.
In July 2022, Kristy underwent her first of three surgeries with Dr Lekich. Utilising a protocol to manage underlying venous disease and a Lymph-Sparing technique, the Lipoedema-Extraction surgery resulted in 7 litres of diseased fat being extracted from Kristy’s posterior thighs. In September, Kristy underwent her subsequent second surgery, also on the posterior of her thighs which resulted in a further 6.2 litres being extracted. Thirdly, in November, Kristy underwent her third surgery on the anterior of her upper legs and the back of her knee, which resulted in 5.5 litres being extracted. The diseased fat is not expected to return. At the time of writing Kristy hopes to undergo a final surgery on her arms in 2023.
Kristy says that following her surgeries, her life “has truly changed forever” and she has accomplished her goal of joining her four-year-old on the slide. “I’m hoping that sharing my story can bring hope to others that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”