“My biggest complex”: by publicly discussing her lipedema, Camille Cerf highlighted a disease that affects nearly one in ten women according to certain German estimates. A chronic, painful condition, often confused with obesity or a simple aesthetic problem, even though it profoundly disrupts the lives of patients. Symptoms, still mysterious causes, available treatments: current state of a disease long relegated to the shadows.
“Very painful legs”: when Camille Cerf tells the story of the invisible
For years, Camille Cerf hid her legs. Behind the impeccable photographs and smiling public appearances, the former Miss France lived with a chronic disorder of which many are still unaware: lipedema.
In an interview given to Tele-Leisure on May 25, she described this painful daily life with precision: “It is inflammatory fat that is stored in the thighs. This results in legs that are very painful to the touch or when I stand for too long, but also in the appearance of bruises..
A few months earlier, on Instagram, she was already talking about “her biggest complex”. A rare word, particularly strong in a world where the female body is constantly exposed and scrutinized.
Lipedema, sometimes called “pole leg” disease, causes an abnormal accumulation of fat, mainly in the hips, thighs and calves. Unlike classic weight gain, this so-called “sick” fat resists diets and is often accompanied by significant pain, spontaneous bruising, a feeling of heavy legs and progressive swelling.
For some patients, everyday activities become tiring: standing for a long time, walking, climbing stairs or simply enduring the contact of clothing on the skin can become painful.
Camille Cerf also describes the strategies put in place to try to soothe the symptoms. “Swimming also helps me a lot: it drains, provides a feeling of well-being and reduces the side effects of lipedema, such as pain, bruising and swelling. For me, its benefits are therefore considerable”she explains.
Like many affected women, she also tries to maintain a rigorous lifestyle: balanced diet, daily walking, regular physical activity. Not to cure – lipedema remains incurable today – but to limit the worsening of symptoms and regain some comfort.
This public speaking also has another significance: that of recognition. Because many patients recount years of medical wandering, guilty remarks about their weight or incomprehension in the face of very real pain.
A disease still poorly understood and often diagnosed too late
The paradox of lipedema is there: it affects a considerable number of women, while remaining largely unknown, including in the medical world. Professor Loïc Vaillant, dermato-venerologist, reminded True Medical that: “We do not have exact data on the frequency of this condition. Only German work reveals figures going beyond 10% of lipoedema in patients with venous diseases. Most of the figures concerning this condition come from Germany where lipedema is better known than in France..
This chronic disease is characterized by a progressive accumulation of fatty tissue under the skin, symmetrically affecting the lower limbs — sometimes also the arms. The feet are generally spared, which makes it possible to distinguish lipedema from lymphedema.
But the diagnosis remains difficult. Firstly because the symptoms evolve slowly. Then because this condition is still too often reduced to an aesthetic problem or excess weight.
However, Professor Vaillant insists, “the increase in adipose tissue characteristic of lipedema is in no way the result of excess food and has no link with the classic causes of obesity..
This precision is essential for patients, who are often confronted with deep guilt. Some even have a very thin silhouette on the upper body, while the legs continue to swell disproportionately.
Researchers are exploring several avenues to explain the origin of lipedema. The hormonal hypothesis is today the most solid. “The cause of lipedema is still unclear, but we attribute a determining role to sex hormones.explains Professor Loïc Vaillant. The disease frequently appears at puberty, during pregnancy or at menopause — periods of great hormonal upheaval.
A genetic predisposition is also suspected, with several women in the same family often being affected.
The problem is also evolving. Over time, pain increases, fatty nodules become larger and mobility may be impaired. In advanced forms, friction, difficulty moving or chronic pain have a major impact on quality of life, self-image and sometimes mental health.
Long invisible, lipedema is nevertheless beginning to be more identified thanks to social networks, patient associations and testimonies from public figures like Camille Cerf. A visibility that is gradually changing the way we view this disease.
Relieve without promising a miracle: what solutions today?
There is currently no treatment that can cure lipedema. The whole difficulty of treatment lies here: relieving the symptoms, slowing the progression of the disease and preserving quality of life as much as possible.
So-called “conservative” approaches first seek to reduce pain and swelling. Manual lymphatic drainage, pressotherapy, thermal cures and even compression stockings are among the solutions regularly offered.
Professor Loïc Vaillant underlines in particular the interest of compressive clothing: “I recommend that my patients wear compression stockings, they considerably improve their comfort of life.”.
Physical activity also plays an important role, not to make the disease disappear, but to limit certain functional consequences. “If diet can do nothing against lipoedema, practicing a sport can improve the appearance of the skin and affected limbs. Please note that a diet that is too rich and being overweight can aggravate lipedema.specifies the specialist.
Swimming, often cited by patients, appears particularly beneficial thanks to the draining effect of water and the absence of impact on painful joints.
In some cases, liposuction may be considered. Today, it constitutes the treatment considered to be the most effective for lastingly removing fatty deposits linked to lipedema.
“Subcutaneous adipose tissue can be removed by means of liposuction which is carried out under local tumescence anesthesia (ALT) and vibrating cannulas. Only this surgical technique can overcome lipoedema.affirms Professor Loïc Vaillant.
But the specialist immediately points out the limits of this intervention: “This treatment only eliminates the main symptom of lipedema (i.e. the accumulation of fat) and not the hormonal cause. This accumulation of fat then does not really reestablish itself or very slowly. The disease would be delayed by approximately 8 years..
In other words, it is neither a definitive cure nor a miracle solution. The treatment of lipedema today remains a fragile balance between physical care, psychological support and medical recognition. And this is perhaps where the importance of Camille Cerf’s testimony lies: to remember that behind this still little-known disease, there are women who often suffer in silence. Women to whom medicine is finally beginning to give a name, a voice and, gradually, answers.