A patient with lipedema was told she was just overweight. After she became so malnourished, she required hospitalization and parenteral nutrition, but her large legs and arms persisted.
Abstract
Patient: Female, 41-year-old
Final Diagnosis:Â Malnutrition
Symptoms: Leg edema • weakness
Medication: —
Clinical Procedure: Lymphatic mapping
Specialty: Dermatology • Endocrinology and Metabolic • Surgery
Objective:
Rare co-existence of disease or pathology
Background:
Lipedema is a common condition that presents as excessive fat deposition in the extremities, initially sparing the trunk, ankles, and feet, and is found mainly in women, usually occurring after puberty or pregnancy. Lipedema can progress to include lipo-lymphedema of the ankles and feet. This report is of a 41-year old woman with Stage 3 lipedema and lipo-lymphedema with excessive lower body fat since puberty, with progression to swollen ankles and feet despite dietary caloric restriction.
Case Report:
A 41-year-old woman noticed increased fat in her legs since age 12. Her weight and leg size increased until age 21, when she reached a maximum weight of 165 kg, and underwent a Roux-En-Y gastric bypass. Over 12 months, she lost 74.8 kg. Her trunk significantly reduced in weight, but her legs did not. Fifteen years later, she became progressively weaker and swollen over her entire body during recovery from hysterectomy surgery. Laboratory test results showed hypoalbuminemia (2.0 g/dL), lymphopenia, and hypolipoproteinemia. She was diagnosed with protein and calorie malnutrition with marked gut edema requiring prolonged parenteral nutrition. After restoring normal protein, her health returned and her pitting edema resolved, but her extremities remained enlarged. She was subsequently diagnosed with lipedema.
Conclusions:
This report demonstrates that early and correct diagnosis of lipedema is important. Women who believe the condition is due to obesity may suffer the consequences of calorie or protein-calorie deficiency in an attempt to lose weight.
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