Lipoedema – The great debate

Over the past 5 to 10 years there has been increasing interest in the assessment and management of lipoedema. This has lead to increasing research but also a debate on what is correct. It essential that health professionals, working in this area, stay up to date as this unfolds so they can then provide their clients with current information.

In November 2020 an international consensus document was published: Lipoedema: a paradigm shift and consensus.

This document tried to answer some of the myths around lipoedema and its management.

This was followed by an article by Guenter Klose, Therapy for lipedema. Incorporating new clinical guidelines, which was originally published in Pathways, (Winter 2020) by the Canadian Lymphedema Framework. This article explores guidelines for the treatment of PURE lipedema.

These publications have sparked a strong response in the form of a letter to the Pathways publication from Karen Herbst et al questioning the content of the international consensus document. To allow a balanced debate a response to this letter from Tobias Bertsch was also published.