Correlation between Quantity of Transferred Lymph Nodes and Outcome in Vascularized Submental Lymph Node Flap Transfer for Lower Limb Lymphedema
Abstract
Vascularized lymph node transfer has shown promising results in the treatment of lower limb lymphedema, but little is known about the number of lymph nodes needed for the transfer to achieve optimal results. This study investigated the correlation between number of transferred lymph nodes in submental vascularized lymph node transfer and outcomes regarding limb circumference reduction and cellulitis incidence. Thirty-five patients who had received vascularized submental lymph node transfer to an ankle for lower limb lymphedema following gynecologic cancer treatment were included in the study. Limb circumference was determined by means of tape measurement preoperatively and postoperatively and was used to calculate the circumferential difference. Ultrasonography was performed postoperatively to determine the number of lymph nodes within the transferred flap. Patients were divided into groups A through C depending on the number of transferred lymph nodes: 1 or 2 (n = 10), 3 or 4 (n = 14), and 5 to 8 (n = 11), respectively. The mean age of the patients was 60.0 ± 9.2 years. All flaps survived. The mean improvement of circumferential difference for the whole cohort was 19.8 ± 9.2 percent. Groups B and C both had significantly highe...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Vascularized lymph node transfer for surgical treatments of upper versus lower extremity lymphedema.
Intra-abdominal lymph node flaps in lymphedema therapy: An anatomical guide to donor site selection.
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Cellulitis
Cellulitis (erysipelas) is a recurring and debilitating bacterial infection of the skin and underlying tissue. Discover the latest research on cellulitis here.