Actor and content creator Debina Bonnerjee recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with lipedema, bringing attention to a condition that often goes undiagnosed or is mistaken for obesity. Her disclosure has prompted conversations around a disease that affects both physical health and emotional wellbeing.
According to Dr Anmol Chugh, Plastic Surgeon at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, many people with lipedema spend years blaming themselves for symptoms they have little control over. He says patients are often burdened not just by the disease itself, but also by the guilt and frustration that comes with being misunderstood.
Lipedema is not obesity or a cosmetic concern
Dr Chugh explains that lipedema is "neither a cosmetic defect nor conventional obesity." Instead, it is a chronic, progressive disease of the body's fat tissue that causes an abnormal and symmetrical build-up of diseased fat, mainly in the legs and arms, while typically sparing the hands and feet.
He says this abnormal tissue is hormonally active and highly inflammatory, which is why people with lipedema often experience painful sensitivity to touch, easy bruising and a constant feeling of heaviness in the affected limbs.
Why conservative treatments have limited benefits
While treatments such as manual lymphatic drainage and compression garments are commonly recommended, Dr Chugh says they mainly help reduce fluid retention and offer only temporary relief from lymphatic swelling.
He explains that these methods cannot remove the fibrotic fat deposits that characterise lipedema, which is why their impact is limited when it comes to managing the disease over the long term.
Why lymphatic-sparing liposuction is considered the gold standard
According to Dr Chugh, lymphatic-sparing liposuction remains the gold standard treatment for lipedema. He says the objective is not cosmetic enhancement but "functional restoration and pain relief."
Using advanced techniques such as Power-Assisted Liposuction (PAL) and Water-Jet Assisted Liposuction (WAL), surgeons can carefully remove diseased fat while preserving important lymphatic pathways. This approach helps address the underlying problem without compromising the lymphatic system.
New technologies can also improve skin tightening
Dr Chugh points to recent clinical data from 2025 and 2026, which suggest that combining liposuction with radio frequency skin tightening technologies such as BodyTite and InMode leads to significantly better skin contraction and improved skin elasticity than liposuction alone.
He says this combination can often reduce the need for a second major surgery to remove excess skin.
Treatment can improve mobility and quality of life
Beyond reducing excess fat, Dr Chugh says successful treatment can help lower long-term inflammation and pain, restore a more natural walking pattern and reduce stress on the joints, helping prevent further degeneration over time.
He also praised Debina Bonnerjee for openly speaking about her diagnosis, saying public awareness depends on people being transparent about their health experiences.
"If you identify any of these symptoms, please know that you are not failing your diet," he says. "Lipedema is a serious medical problem, and up-to-date plastic surgery techniques can provide very specific, quality-of-life altering treatments that literally stop the disease."
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