Meet this 31-year-old from Sydney NSW who was diagnosed with Stage 2 Lipoedema. She first heard about Lipoedema when her cousin travelled to Germany for her own surgical journey and shared it on social media. The patient recalls that it made a lot of sense that the symptoms her cousin was experiencing were the exact same as her own.
The patient mentioned she always knew something wasn’t quite right. Between a diagnosis of POTS and receiving her Lipoedema diagnosis, she had been experiencing painful legs by the end of the day, discolouration, circulation irregularities and easy swelling / bruising. Upon reflection she has reported the same pain in her arms combined with the swelling.
What brought the patient to see Dr Lekich were other patients’ case studies on social media.
The patient’s Lipoedema diagnosis unfortunately impacted her mental health. Recalling the initial diagnosis was very overwhelming, she said, “This is something I have to plan out and budget for,” as she needed around four surgeries in total.
She said her main challenges with having Lipoedema was the fatigue and pain that comes with it. She said, “It has prevented me from really having any hobbies because I would rather sit down and put my feet up so I don’t have pain.”
She reported on seeing different doctors in the past, who had advised weight loss and to drink more water. The patient developed a negative outlook on her body, “I feel like my whole body was diseased” she also said, “I had a really difficult time with my confidence.”
Prior to her first surgery she did conservative management including yoga and swimming, wore compression and followed a low carb diet.
In 2024, utilising a protocol to manage underlying venous disease and a Lymph-Sparing technique, the patient underwent three lipoedema extraction surgeries. Her first surgery saw a total of 1.5 litres of Lipoedema fat removed from the patient’s arms. Subsequently in July 2024, a further 2.6 litres was removed from the patient’s lower legs. In August 2024 she underwent surgery on her thighs and a total of 4.5 litres was removed as well as having a simultaneous Renuvion procedure to treat skin laxity / redundancy.
“My advice to other women experiencing Lipoedema would be to not be so hard on yourself, you are beautiful and it’s not your fault. Surgery is not your only option as well.”
The patient is eager to explore her exercise options after surgery and looks forward to feeling her best and seeing that reflected in her appearance.