The value of sonographic microvascular imaging in the diagnosis of lipedema

Lipedema is a chronic disease marked by symmetric enlargement of painful nodular and fibrotic adipose tissue, predominantly affecting the limbs. Since there is no specific test or biomarker for this condition, years often pass before the diagnosis of lipedema is established for the first time, thereby causing psychosocial distress, including depression, eating disorders, and social isolation. Over the last few years several advanced Doppler-based technologies have been developed to visualize slow flow blood vessels and superficial microvascular architecture undetectable by traditional color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI).