Discover the story of a woman suffering from lipedema from adolescence to the present day. From the evolution of this pathology despite a healthy lifestyle to her operations and her meeting with Dr. Nicolas Zwillinger.
Could you please introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Aurore and I’m 47. I’ve had lipedema since I think I was 17, which was more or less stabilized by a fairly impeccable lifestyle: no diet, a healthy diet and lots of exercise. Despite all my efforts, the lipedema has progressed.
What were your lipedema-related symptoms?
My mother had lipedema associated with lymphedema, and was always told she was obese. She immediately took my symptoms seriously, and for me it started with pain. At first, my legs looked normal, but it was really the pain and hematomas all over my lower limbs that told me something was wrong. My hematomas were up to 15 centimetres long and appeared without a blow, without anything, just like that!
Later, around the age of 25, it developed into what’s known as a “pole leg”, with no calf, and the evolution continued. With a professional life where I took a lot of planes, it became a catastrophe: big oedemas on the lower part of the body, the upper part was not affected, the pain was also felt in the legs.
When did you decide to consult a lipedema professional?
I’ve always been told that I had pole legs, and not very diplomatically at that. They’d tell me “it’s your morphology” and “you’ve got to exercise”, but no! I was 47kg and that didn’t stop the dysmorphia between my upper and lower body. I started to see on Instagram, the networks that there were other women affected by this disease. I did a bit more research, and it’s been a year and a half now, so it’s very, very recent.
I’ve seen a lot of surgery options, especially abroad, and I was afraid of that. First of all, because I have a medical history that requires a rather close post-operative follow-up, and I was afraid that abroad that wouldn’t be the case, but also because there are surgeons in France, so why not put them to work!
So I searched for surgeons in France and came across Dr Nicolas Zwillinger, then I researched and decided to stop my search and consult him (via video). Then it was pretty quick!
Following your consultation, an operation has been scheduled for the end of 2021. Can you tell us about this first operation?
I was very apprehensive about going to the Clinique Étoile for this first operation on my ankles, calves and lower knees. I was delighted with the clinic and was well looked after. I was mainly afraid of waking up and feeling nauseous, and in the end I woke up fine, but my return home was complicated. It was complicated for 15 days, and I found the post-operative period horrible. You have to be brave and want this operation; you have to visualize the benefits in order to hold on.
We need to walk to feel good, sometimes we get electric shocks, our legs feel like wood, and localized sensitivities slowly return.
Today we are just over 2 months after your first operation and we are at the clinic for upper liposuction, how are you feeling?
I don’t know where I’ve been and I can already see the results on the areas I’ve already operated on, so I’m less afraid. I’m surrounded by the same team as when I had my first operation, so it’s easier.
What advice would you give to those affected by lipedema?
The WAL liposuction procedure changes many things in everyday life, and even if the post-operative period is not easy, I advise these people to consult a specialist. And there’s no need to have the operation abroad, in France we have a surgeon who treats this condition, with impressive results: Doctor Nicolas Zwillinger.
We would like to thank this lipedema patient for sharing her experience with us. We invite you to consult the other testimonials on our website.
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