Lymphatic Pump Treatment Increases Thoracic Duct Lymph Flow in Conscious Dogs with Edema Due to Constriction of the Inferior Vena Cava

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of osteopathic lymphatic pump treatment (LPT) on lymph flow in the thoracic duct of instrumented conscious dogs in the presence of edema produced by constriction of the inferior vena cava (IVC).MethodsSix dogs were surgically instrumented with an ultrasonic flow transducer on the thoracic lymph duct and catheters in the descending thoracic aorta and in the IVC. After post‐operative recovery, lymph flow and hemodynamic variables were measured 1) pre‐LPT, 2) during 4 min LPT, 3) post‐LPT, in the absence and presence of edema produced by IVC constriction.ResultsIVC constriction increased abdominal girth from 60±2.6 to 75±2.9 cm. Before IVC constriction, LPT increased lymph flow (P<0.05) from 1.9±0.2 ml/min to a maximum of 4.7±1.2 ml/min, whereas after IVC constriction, LPT increased lymph flow (P<0.05) from 7.9±2.2 to a maximum of 11.7±2.2 ml/min. The incremental lymph flow mobilized by 4 min of LPT, i.e., the flow that exceeded 4 min of baseline flow, was 10.6 ml after IVC constriction (not different from before IVC constriction).ConclusionsEdema caused by IVC constriction markedly increased lymph flow in the thoracic duct. LPT increased thoracic duct lymph flow before and after IVC constriction. The lymph flow mobilized by 4 min of LPT in presence of edema was not significantly greater than that mobilized prior to edema. (Support: NIH grant U19 AT002023 and Osteopathic Research Center.)