Lower extremity lymphocele development after saphenous vein harvesting

Damage to the lymphatic vessels may occur after surgery on the greater saphenous vein. We describe the development of a lymphocele in a patient after saphenous vein harvesting for a coronary artery bypass graft. Treatment of these lymphoceles should initially be conservative, but if this approach fails, surgical excision should be performed and special attention paid to identifying and ligating the feeding lymphatic vessel.