MEASUREMENT OF LYMPHEDEMA USING ULTRASONOGRAPHY WITH THE COMPRESSION METHOD

C-Y Lim, H.G Seo, K Kim, S-G Chung, K-S Seo

Abstract


Lymphedema is swelling of soft tissues byaccumulation of lymphatic fluid due to failureof the lymphatic drainage system. Althoughmost measures for lymphedema focus onchange of volume or size of the extremity, thephysical properties of the tissue such asresistance to compression are also of clinicalimportance because they affect the quality oflife of lymphedema patients. In this study, weaimed to compare the thickness and resistanceto compression of the skin and subcutisbetween the affected and unaffected arms ofpatients with lymphedema by using ultrasonographytogether with the compressiontechnique, and we also investigated the factorsthat have an influence on the results.Thirty-nine patients with post-mastectomylymphedema participated in this study. Allultrasonographically-assessed thicknesses ofskin and subcutaneous tissue in affectedupper arms and forearms were significantlylarger than the contralateral (p<0.05) whileall resistances to compression values weresignificantly lower (p<0.05). These resultssuggest that measuring the resistance tocompression and thickness using thecompression method with ultrasonographymay be a valuable tool for evaluatinglymphedema after breast cancer surgery.

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