What do we know about lymphedema? Review Article

Abstract

Lymphedema can cause by a congenital anomaly, an infectious disease, chronic inflammation, connective tissuedisease, and cancer. The most common presenting symptoms are swelling of the affected limb, difficulty wearingclothes, and disturbances to daily life activities. Most of the time, patients have a high chance of developing a softtissue infection that will jeopardize the quality of their life and socioeconomic status. As to management of thedisease, it necessary to make a precise diagnosis and clinico-pathological staging in order to guide the treatment planand yield optimum results. Currently, surgical management for lymphedema is based on the use of 1) physiologicaltreatment, and 2) reductive or ablative procedures. Conservative treatment (especially for complete decongestivetherapy) is still the mainstay for the management of lymphedema.