[Outcome of various inpatient lymph drainage procedures]

Three groups of patients (n: 10 each group) with extensive or massive secondary lymphedema of the arm were treated with different types of manual lymphatic drainage. The decrease of volume based on arm circumference was measured before and four weeks after treatment. The first group received one hour of manual lymph drainage twice a day ("Asdonk-standard"). The second group received a 90 minute and the third group only a single one hour treatment. Our result indicate that the therapeutic efficacy of the "Asdonk-standard" is superior to the other two forms of therapy. The improvement of lymphedema was much superior in this group and the treatment was more cost effective.