BACKGROUND Lymphoedema is a distressing problem affecting many women after breast cancer surgery. There is no cure and existing treatments are marginally beneficial, rarely reducing arm swelling in any meaningful way. Needling and even lifting of objects using the affected arm has been prohibited, but our clinical experience and that of others suggested that acupuncture was safe and that it mig...

Background and Purpose. Lymphoedema is a serious complication following limb salvage for extremity soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) for which little is known. We aimed to evaluate its incidence, its, severity and its associated risk factors. Material and Method. Patient and tumor characteristics, treatment modalities and complications and functional outcomes (MSTS 1987, TESS), and lymphoedema severi...

Lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) is a treatment for lymphoedema that can improve lymph circulation by the anastomosis of lymph vessels and veins. A therapeutic effect of LVA for lymphoedema has been shown in limbs, but efficacy for other regions has not been shown. Lymphoedema in the head-and-neck region following cancer resection and radiotherapy is mainly treated with manual lymphatic drain...

The occurrence of primary lymphoedema with distichiasis is well recognised, but that the form of lymphoedema appears restricted to bilateral hyperplasia, as defined by lymphography, has not been reported.

OBJECTIVE To determine the preventive effect of manual lymph drainage on the development of lymphoedema related to breast cancer. DESIGN Randomised single blinded controlled trial. SETTING University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. PARTICIPANTS 160 consecutive patients with breast cancer and unilateral axillary lymph node dissection. The randomisation was stratified for body mass index...

Lymphatic vasculature critically depends on the connections of lymphatic endothelial cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM), which are mediated by anchoring filaments (AFs). The ECM protein EMILIN1 is a component of AFs and is involved in the regulation of lymphatic vessel functions: accordingly, Emilin1(-/-) mice display lymphatic vascular morphological alterations, leading to functional de...

INTRODUCTION Lymphoedema-distichiasis syndrome (LD) (OMIM 153400) is a rare, primary lymphoedema of pubertal onset, associated with distichiasis. Causative mutations have now been described in FOXC2, a forkhead transcription factor gene. Numerous clinical associations have been reported with this condition, including congenital heart disease, ptosis, varicose veins, cleft palate, and spinal ext...

Low cost reduction of morbidity in lymphoedema is an essential goal in the management of lymphatic filariasis. This review emphasises the role of movement and elevation, and refers to the literature on the effects of these on the venous and lymphatic system. The patient with lymphoedema becomes increasingly immobile and the affected limb is often in a permanently dependent position causing veno...

BACKGROUND One of the complications of lymphoedema is recurrent cellulitis. The aim was to determine whether lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) was effective at reducing cellulitis in patients with lymphoedema. METHODS This was a retrospective review of patients with arm/leg lymphoedema who underwent LVA. The frequency of cellulitis was compared before and after surgery. The diagnostic criter...

Lymphoedema can be defined as a chronic swelling of one or more parts of the body due to a failure in lymph drainage. There is no curative treatment for this condition and the objective of Children’s Lymphoedema Special Interest Group (CLSIG) is to raise awareness of the condition and promote effective treatment. Although the majority of referrals to lymphoedema services are for the assessment ...