Complications and their management in the surgical treatment of Lipohyperplasia dolorosa. English version.

Abstract

Background: There are both conservative and surgical treatment options for Lipohyperplasia dolorosa (LiDo). A procedure that has been established since 1997 is the surgical treatment through Lymphological Liposculpture according to Cornely™.

Aim: After extensive suctioning of the extremities, an extensive subcutaneous wound cavity with a trabecular connective tissue scaffold remains. Nevertheless, surgery-related complications are rare. Postoperative management and administration of antibiotics and antithrombotics are reviewed. The therapies for complications are presented in detail.

Materials and methods: Retrospectively, the frequencies of adverse events in 1400 LiDo surgeries in 2020 were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 47.81 years (range 16-78 years). Symmetrically, 504 outer legs (outer half of the limb [BO]), 504 inner legs (inner half of the limb [BI]), and 392 arms [A] were surgically treated.

Results: Relevant adverse events rarely occurred: infections (1.79%), seromas (0.79%), erysipelas (0.28%), necrosis (0.14%) and deep vein thrombosis (0.07).

Discussion: We were able to reduce the rate of postoperative complications to 3.07% in the Lymphological Liposculpture™ regime for the surgical treatment of LiDo. In their meta-analysis on liposuction, Kanapathy et al. reported an overall incidence of major surgical complications of 3.35%. The overall incidence of minor surgical complications was 11.62%, with seroma (5.51%) being the most common minor complication [26]. Kruppa et al. report that the liposuction procedure including fat removal for esthetic reasons has a complication rate of 9.5%. Wound infections with 4.5% and the formation of erysipelas with 4% are clearly in the foreground [20].