Vol. 2 No. 11 (2022)
Health Technology Reviews

Liposuction for Lymphedema

Published November 1, 2022

Key Messages

  • Liposuction with controlled compressive therapy was associated with higher volume reduction compared with controlled compression therapy alone. This finding was from a low- to moderate-quality meta-analysis of 2 prospective cohort studies. The certainty of the evidence is very low.
  • Liposuction was associated with higher improvement in health-related quality of life compared with no treatment. However, the associated data were not reported to enable an independent corroboration of this finding, and the evidence was uncertain.
  • Overall, the evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of liposuction compared with no treatment was very uncertain because it came from a small number of studies with methodological limitations and poor reporting.
  •  Two guidelines recommended the use of liposuction for the treatment of lymphedema.