Charles procedure for lymphedema

Abstract

With the reemergence of microsurgical functional lymphedema surgery (lymph node transfer and lymphatic bypass), there are still a significant number of patients with debilitating lymphedema not amenable to these technically advanced procedures. Ablative surgical management is often the only option for these patients presenting with advanced inoperable end stages of lymphedema. After being abandoned for the last half century, reductive surgery is reconsidered in these specific conditions. One of the most popular ablative reductive surgeries is the Charles procedure that we describe in this chapter.