Lymphedema means that the lymphatic vessels in the leg or arm are no longer open, as a result of which the leg or arm swells.

Lymphedema can be classified into two groups:
primary: in this case the lymphedema is isolated.
secondary: after surgery or tumor-associated.

Lymphedema can cause the following symptoms:
Swelling, pain, heaviness, tightness, skin changes....

Clinically, lymphedema is divided into four stages.

Mostly, the diagnosis of lymphedema is clinical but a definite diagnosis can be made by lymph scintigraphy.
The therapy of lymphedema is manual lymphatic drainage.

An important differential diagnosis to lymphedema is lipedema.

Definitely, lipedema is a diaproportional fat distribution disorder between the trunk of the body and extremities with exclusion of the hands and feet.

Lipedema can affect the lower and also the upper extremities.

in comparison with lymphedema, lipedema shows pressure pain and the fatty tissue is bilaterally symmetrically localized in both extremities.

Clinically, lipedema divides into three stages.

The diagnosis of lipedema is clinical.

Therapy is conservative if the finding of lipedema is mild.

Surgical therapy (liposuction) can be performed in case of:

- frustrated conservative therapy
- pronounced lipedema.

Caution: sometimes we find in the patients lip-lymphoedema (mixed form).