Details
Question
- What is the clinical effectiveness of liposuction compared with no treatment for the treatment of lymphedema?
- What is the clinical effectiveness of liposuction compared with alternative treatments for the treatment of lymphedema?
- What are the evidence-based guidelines regarding the use of liposuction for the treatment of lymphedema?
Key Message
- 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.