Trial reportTrials2021
A randomised controlled multicentre investigator-blinded clinical trial comparing efficacy and safety of surgery versus complex physical decongestive therapy for lipedema (LIPLEG).
Trial report in Trials, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04272827 (Multicentre, Controlled, Randomized, Investigator-blinded Clinical Trial on Efficacy and Safety of Surgical Therapy of Lipedema Compared to Complex Physical Decongestive Therapy Alone), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Multicentre, Controlled, Randomized, Investigator-blinded Clinical Trial on Efficacy and Safety of Surgical Therapy of Lipedema Compared to Complex Physical Decongestive Therapy Alone (LIPLEG)
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Surgical Intervention in Refractory Lipedema: A Systematic Review and Single-Arm Meta-Analysis.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Lipedema World Alliance Delphi Consensus-Based Position Paper on the Definition and Management of Lipedema: Results from the 2023 Lipedema World Congress in Potsdam.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Tirzepatide as a Potential Disease-Modifying Therapy in Lipedema: A Narrative Review on Bridging Metabolism, Inflammation, and Fibrosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Therapeutic Applications of Ketogenic Diets in Lipedema: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence.Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- Lipedema: Clinical Features, Diagnosis, and Management.Archives of plastic surgery · 2025Article
- Brazilian Consensus Statement on Lipedema using the Delphi methodology.Jornal vascular brasileiro · 2025Article
- Mental and physical health burden and quality of life in Czech women with lipedema.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Article
- Article
- Health Implications of Lipedema: Analysis of Patient Questionnaires and Population-Based Matched Controls.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Lipedema: exploring pathophysiology and treatment strategies - state of the art.Jornal vascular brasileiro · 2024Review
- Patient-Reported Outcomes of Liposuction for Lipedema Treatment.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLipedema is a chronic disorder of the adipose tissue that affects mainly women, characterised by symmetrical, excessive fatty tissue on the legs and pain. Standard conservative treatment is long-term comprehensive decongestive therapy (CDT) to alleviate lipedema-related pain and to improve psychosocial well-being, mobility and physical activity. Patients may benefit from surgical removal of abnormally propagated adipose tissue by liposuction. The LIPLEG trial evaluates the efficacy and safety of liposuction compared to standard CDT. METHODS/
designLIPLEG is a randomised controlled multicentre investigator-blinded trial. Women with lipedema (n=405) without previous liposuction will be allocated 2:1 to liposuction or CDT. The primary outcome of the trial is leg pain reduction by ≥2 points on a visual analogue scale ranging 0-10 at 12 months on CDT or post-completion of liposuction. Secondary outcomes include changes in leg pain severity, health-related quality of life, depression tendency, haematoma tendency, prevalence of oedema, modification physical therapy scope, body fat percentage, leg circumference and movement restriction. The primary analysis bases on intention-to-treat. Success proportions are compared using the Mantel-Haenszel test stratified by lipedema stage at a 5% two-sided significance level. If this test is statistically significant, the equality of the response proportions in the separate strata is evaluated by Fisher's exact test in a hierarchical test strategy. DISCUSSION: LIPLEG assesses whether surgical treatment of lipedema is safe and effective to reduce pain and other lipedema-related health issues. The findings of this trial have the potential to change the standard of care in lipedema.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04272827. Registered on February 14, 2020. TRIAL STATUS: Protocol version is 02_0, December 17, 2019.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.