Lymphoedema represents a serious health problem associated with significant psychological, social and economic burden for the one affected. Despite the progress in diagnostics and treatment, this medical problem will not be definitively solved in the foreseeable future. We present a case of a patient with lymphoedema which, unfortunatelly resulted in a forced transfemoral amputation due to septic complications. The course of the disease in this case confirms the severity of the diagnosis with possibly life- threatening consequences. Further, we discuss current views on lymphoedema based on the available literature.