Surgical treatment of recidivist lymphedema

Open Med (Wars). 2016 Jun 23;11(1):121-124. doi: 10.1515/med-2016-0023. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Lymphedema is a chronic disease with a progressively ingravescent evolvement and an appearance of recurrent complications of acute lymphangitic type; in nature it is mostly erysipeloid and responsible for a further rapid increase in the volume and consistency of edema. The purpose of this work is to present our experience in the minimally invasive treatment for recurrence of lymphedema; adapting techniques performed in the past which included large fasciotomy with devastating results cosmetically; but these techniques have been proposed again by the use of endoscopic equipment borrowed from the advanced laparoscopy surgery, which allows a monoskin access of about one cm.

Keywords: Lymphedema; lymphatic venous anastomosis; lymphoscintigraphy; microsurgery; supermicrosurgery; transposition of the lymph nodes.