Past, Present, and Future in Microsurgical Treatment of Lymphedema
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery/Aesthetic Medicine".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 October 2024) | Viewed by 2848
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The field of lymphedema surgery has witnessed tremendous advances over the years with the growth of two workhorse techniques and introduction of novel and combined approaches. The use of the lymphovenous bypass (LVB), along with vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT), represents the primary means for treatment of lymphedema; however, combining the two techniques and the introduction of vascularized lymph tissue or lymph vessel transfer may further improve outcomes in patients suffering from lymphedema. Given the reliable and reproducible outcomes achieved using these physiologic techniques, supermicrosurgeons have begun incorporating these techniques in a prophylactic fashion in order to prevent lymphedema in high-risk patients. The concept of a lymphatic interposition flap transfer (LIFT) utilizes the native lymphatic architecture contained within a vascularized free tissue transfer to provide soft tissue coverage for limb salvage while simultaneously reconstructing and restoring the lymphatic drainage from the limb. This mirrors the concept of immediate lymphatic reconstruction (ILR), where the LVB technique is employed at the time of regional node dissection. This is now rapidly becoming the standard of care for breast cancer patients who undergo an axillary node dissection (AND). At the time of the AND, lymphatic channels that are ligated during the dissection are then secondarily repaired during the same operation to preserve the lymphatic drainage from the arm. Thus, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these approaches from a historic perspective, their maturation and evolution, and the future of lymphedema surgery from world-renowned experts in the field.
Dr. Edward I. Chang
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- lymphedema surgery
- lymphovenous bypass
- vascularized lymph node transfer
- immediate lymphatic reconstruction
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