Intensive complete decongestive physiotherapy for cancer-related upper-limb lymphedema: 11 days achieved greater volume reduction than 4.

Background: Upper-limb lymphedema (ULL) occurs in 15-20% of women after breast-cancer treatment. Its intensive therapy relies on complete (complex) decongestive physiotherapy (CDP), whose duration is not well-established.

Objective: Determine optimal intensive-phase CDP duration for lymphedema-volume reduction and factors predicting its success, with the hope of halving it from 11 to 4 days.

Complications of autologous lymph-node transplantation for limb lymphoedema.

Objective: This study aims to assess potential complications of autologous lymph-node transplantation (ALNT) to treat limb lymphoedema.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Method: All limb-lymphoedema patients, followed up in a single lymphology department, who decided to undergo ALNT (January 2004-June 2012) independently of our medical team, were included.

Primary upper-limb lymphoedema.

Background: Lymphoedema is a general term used to designate pathological, regional accumulation of protein-rich fluid. It can be either primary or secondary, and mainly occurs after cancer treatment.

Objectives: To analyse the clinical and lymphoscintigraphic characteristics of primary upper-limb lymphoedema (ULL).

[Lipedema: a misdiagnosed entity].

Lipedema is a clinical entity frequently misdiagnosed or confound with primary lymphedema. Lipedema is a disorder of adipose tissue that occurs almost exclusively in obese women. It is characterized by bilateral enlargement from hip to ankle due to abnormal depositions of subcutaneous fat associated with often mild edema, usually sparing the feet.