Surgical Treatment of Lymphedema in the Upper Extremity

Zhi Yang Ng1, Xavier Chalhoub2, Dominic Furniss3

  • 1Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.

Hand Clinics
|March 29, 2024
PubMed

The advent of supermicrosurgery has led to an increasing interest in the surgical management of lymphedema through the reconstruction of the lymphatic network, that is, the physiologic approach. Broadly, this can be divided into 2 main techniques: lymphaticovenous anastomosis and lymph node transfer. In the United Kingdom, the British Lymphology Society does not provide any recommendations on surgical management. Moreover, surgical treatment of lymphedema is not widely practiced within the National Health Service due to low-certainty evidence. Herein, we discuss our experience in physiologic reconstruction for lymphedema.