Abstract
Feasibility of liposuction for treatment of arm lymphedema from breast cancer: A prospective study and review of the literature
Highlights
Lymphedema is a dreaded complication of breast cancer treatment that affects approximately 20% of women having axillary lymph node dissection [1]
An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved prospective trial was conducted of women having non-pitting chronic unilateral arm lymphedema resulting from breast cancer treatment
Patients included in this study had mild to severe lymphedema; classification was based on the difference in volume of the affected arm compared to the unaffected arm: slight (800)
Summary
Lymphedema is a dreaded complication of breast cancer treatment that affects approximately 20% of women having axillary lymph node dissection [1]. It is defined as an abnormal regional accumulation of protein-rich interstitial fluid, resulting in edema formation and eventual chronic inflammation with or without fibrosis [2]. Risk factors for the development of lymphedema after axillary lymph node dissection are advanced age, radiation, obesity, metastasis to lymph nodes and postsurgical complications like seroma [2]. Patients with lymphedema often have difficulty with activities of daily living caused by: limitations in range of motion, pain, numbness and weakness in the affected extremity [5]. Psychological morbidity including a decline in emotional and social well-being has been documented in patients suffering from lymphedema [6,7]
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