Lympedema Therapies

Secondary lymphedema refers to a condition in which the affected extremity develops progressive hypertrophy due to lymphatic fluid retention. Worldwide, secondary lymphedema is most often associated with parasitic infection; within the United States, secondary lymphedema is most often caused by surgical disruption of the lymphatic drainage basins due to cancer surgery and/or radiation. For patients with lymphedema secondary to parasitic infection, treatment of the offending infectious organism (Wuchereria bancroftii) is critical. For patients with surgical disruption of the lymphatic drainage basin(s), patients are first managed non-operatively with compression and manual lymphatic drainage massage. Over the past decade, surgical techniques have been developed and implemented to improve lymphatic drainage for patients with post-surgical secondary lymphedema. These procedures, including lymphovenous bypass or vascularized lymph node transfer, are aimed at reconstituting lymphatic drainage and reducing lymphatic retention to alleviate early lymphedema. An appreciation of the underlying physiology responsible for secondary lymphedema, and diagnosis and management is required to provide timely and appropriate care for these patients. This review contains 2 tables, 4 figures, and 32 references Keywords: lymphedema, lymphedema treatment, secondary lymphedema, complete decongestive therapy, lymphovenous bypass, vascularized lymph node transplantation, debulking surgery, ICG lymphangiography, lymphedema staging