Surgical innovations for lymphedema patients | OSUCCC – James

Recent treatment advances are improving quality of life for breast cancer patients experiencing swelling from lymphedema.

Lymphedema is a condition that causes often-painful swelling in the body — often in the extremities. It can result from the treatment of breast cancer (along with other cancers) and can significantly impact the daily routines of patients.

While previously thought of as incurable, lymphedema is now being treated successfully thanks to innovation in surgery and compression therapy, according to Min-Jeong Cho, MD, from the OSUCCC – James.

“Our bodies have filtering systems called lymphatic systems. Lymphedema happens when you have a blockage of a lymphatic system,” Cho says. “We will first initiate compression therapy to measure swelling, and then we find the blocked lymphatic channels and reroute them to the veins so the lymphatic fluids can be drained. It's almost like rebuilding a lymphatic system for the patients.”

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