Dr. med. Marion Heck

Lipedema is a chronic progressive disease that usually begins during puberty and often goes unnoticed at first, placing a heavy physical and psychological burden on women’s lives. In most cases, the diagnosis is still made far too late, resulting in many years of significantly reduced quality of life.

I myself only learned about lipoedema late in life, when I was already regularly treating patients in my own gynaecology practice. My brother, Dr Falk-Christian Heck, had recognised it as a disease and began to find surgical solutions in this largely unexplored field over 20 years ago. When I accompanied my brother in the operating room in 2013, I got talking to the women and learned about their often long suffering. This gave me an ever greater insight into this disease. I not only learned how to operate, but also recognised it in my patients during my gynaecological consultations. In 2015, the LipoClinic Dr. Heck was founded in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

Over the next three years, I performed more and more operations here until, in 2018, I decided to devote myself exclusively to lipoedema. I gave up my gynaecological practice and, in 2019, was able to set up our location in Hamburg, where we care for our patients with a highly dedicated team.

Although I ran my own gynaecological practice with passion for over 11 years, I found even greater fulfilment in treating lipoedema. Here, we have time for our patients! I can take over an hour for an initial consultation to get to know each patient, and we can bring patients together in our group consultations. In this setting, many women feel noticed and understood for the first time. We can educate patients and sometimes give them the important impulse to embark on the path of therapy. Every patient has her own story, and every consultation is individual.

If the patient later decides to have surgery and chooses me as her doctor, we walk this path together. It is incredible to see how patients ‘look forward’ to their operations. How wonderful it is for me as a doctor to be able to witness so closely how my patient’s life is changing so decisively.

As a gynaecologist, I feel very much at home here. I can often offer advice and support on important issues such as contraception, pregnancy and the menopause, so I have never left my field of expertise.