lymphedema

Also known as Lymphatic edema (morphologic abnormality), Lymphoedema NOS, Milroy's disease, Nonne-Milroy lymphedema, lymphatic edema, lymphoedema

Key facts

Medical condition.name: Lymphedema
Medical condition.image: Lymphödem.JPG
Medical condition.caption: Lower extremity lymphedema
Medical condition.field: Vascular medicine, Rheumatology, Physical medicine and rehabilitation, General surgery, Plastic surgery
Medical condition.synonyms: Lymphatic obstruction, lymphatic insufficiency
Medical condition.diagnosis: Based on symptoms
Medical condition.differential: Lipodystrophy, venous insufficiency

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

21,534 papers

[Lymphedema].Revue medicale suisse · 2006
[Lymphedema].Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2025
Lymphedema following cancer therapy: overview and options.Clinical & experimental metastasis · 2018
Liposuction in Lymphedema Treatment.Journal of reconstructive microsurgery · 2016
[Primary lymphedema].Zeitschrift fur Lymphologie. Journal of lymphology · 1983

via PubMed

~27 min read

Encyclopedic overview

28 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Complications
Causes and risk factors
Lymph node damage
At birth
Inflammatory lymphedema
Physiology
Role of T-cell inflammation and Th2 response
T-cell inflammation and fibrosis
Diagnosis
Classification
I. Grading
II. Staging
Grades
Differential
Treatment
Curative treatment
Compression
Garments
Bandaging
Intermittent pneumatic compression therapy
Exercise
Surgery
Laser therapy
Pharmaceuticals
Epidemiology
References
External links

Lymphedema (USA), lymphoedema (UK) also known as lymphatic edema (US) / oedema (UK), is a condition of localized swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system. The lymphatic system functions as a critical portion of the body's immune system and returns interstitial fluid to the bloodstream.

Lymphedema is most frequently a complication of cancer treatment or parasitic infections, but it can also be seen in a number of genetic disorders. Tissues with lymphedema are at high risk of infection because the lymphatic system has been compromised.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “lymphedema” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.