Vascularized lymph node transfer for treatment of extremity lymphedema: An overview of current controversies regarding donor sites, recipient sites and outcomes

Marco Pappalardo; Ketan Patel; Ming-Huei Cheng

doi:10.1002/jso.25034

Vascularized lymph node transfer for treatment of extremity lymphedema: An overview of current controversies regarding donor sites, recipient sites and outcomes

J Surg Oncol. 2018 Jun;117(7):1420-1431. doi: 10.1002/jso.25034. Epub 2018 Mar 24.

Authors

Marco Pappalardo^{1

2}, Ketan Patel³, Ming-Huei Cheng¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
² Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
³ Department of Plastic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

PMID: 29572824
DOI: 10.1002/jso.25034

Abstract

As lymphatic microsurgery has become more common, vascularized lymph node transfer ascended to the forefront in many centers for the surgical management of advanced stages of lymphedema showing substantial clinical improvement. However, no consensus has been reached among experts regarding many details of the procedures, including patient selection criteria, type of treatment, donor, and recipient sites and postoperative evaluation of the outcome. Here, we will review these issues and provide the current results of this procedure.

Keywords: lymphatic microsurgery; lymphedema; vascularized lymph node transfer.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Extremities*
Humans
Lymph Nodes / blood supply*
Lymph Nodes / transplantation*
Lymphedema / surgery*
Treatment Outcome