[Lipedema: update on diagnosis and treatment]

Lipedema is a chronic adipose tissue disorder that primarily affects women, characterized by symmetrical and disproportionate fat accumulation in the lower and/ or upper extremities, sparing hands and feet. This review aims to update knowledge on diagnosis, staging classification, and available therapeutic options. Diagnosis is fundamentally clinical, based on characteristic adipose tissue distribution, presence of pain, easy bruising, after excluding other similar entities. Treatment includes conservative measures (complete decongestive therapy, exercise, compression) and surgical procedures (tumescent liposuction or, in severe cases, resective surgery). Early recognition of lipedema allows implementation of therapeutic strategies that significantly improve patients' quality of life, preventing progression to advanced stages and associated complications such as secondary lymphedema.