Can liposuction of the upper thigh and knee area help with primary Osteoarthritis of the knees?

Liposuction will remove unwanted fat as an aesthetic improvement but will have no effect on the inflammatory process associated with your osteoarthritis.

Liposuction has no effect on the knee joint so it should have no influence on your arthritis if the liposuction is performed properly.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Thank you for your question. Liposuction is a body contouring procedure, not a weight loss solution or a solution for inflammation, so it would not be able to help your problem. I would seek the expertise of your family doctor. Best of luck!

Thanks for your questions. Congratulations on the weight loss so far.  Liposuction is for cosmetic contouring via fat cell removal, but is not for weight loss and therefore would not help your lower extremity symptoms.  Initially during the healing process, liposuction would actually make your swelling worse.  If you continue to have lower extremity edema, you should be evaluated for possible other causes (ie, venous insufficiency).  Best of luck with your continued work towards your goals.

Sorry to hear that your osteoarthritis is being complicated by diabetes, weight gain, and neuropathy.    Liposuction actually removes very little weight and would not improve your symptoms.   Additionally, liposuction may make the edema of your legs worse.  You may want to see if your primary care physician can do a work up for lymphemema or venous reflux to help explain the leg swelling.