Lymphedema: What You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Treatment and the Promise of Research
Stanley Rockson, director of Stanford's Lymphedema Clinic, discusses emerging treatments for lymphedema, a swelling that frequently follows surgery for cancer.
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Lymphatic and venous disorders often have profound functional and psychological implications for patients and their families. Caring for patients with edema is a complex task requiring input from many specialists. To meet these challenges, the Stanford Center for Lymphatic and Venous Disorders provides a broad spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic treatments for adults and children.
The recommended treatments in lymphatic and venous disorders will depend heavily on the individual diagnosis, and may include manual therapies, medications, dietary management, procedural interventions, or even surgery.
Many of the patients in our center have lymphedema as a major component of the clinical problem. In the context of lymphedema, we have very specific short- and long-term goals:
An inter-related set of therapies which lead to a reduction in the size of the affected arm or leg; include manual lymphatic massage or drainage and compression garments or bandaging.
Special short-stretch bandages are applied in a specific manner to provide a pressure gradient that reduces edema volume.
A range of compressive methods and devices, including garments, exercise and pumps to help reduce fluid buildup in lymphedema.
A range of therapeutic treatments to help stimulate lymphatic flow, reduce infection, and decrease edema.
A therapy to help restore and maintain normal volume status in patients with clinical evidence of fluid overload, such as lymphedema.
A surgical transplantation procedure in which lymph nodes are moved from one part of the body (usually the abdomen) to the lymphedema affected area.
A machine with an inflatable sleeve with multiple chambers (like balloons) that inflate one after the other to stimulate the flow of lymph in the right direction.
Stanley Rockson, director of Stanford's Lymphedema Clinic, discusses emerging treatments for lymphedema, a swelling that frequently follows surgery for cancer.
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