Tracking Outcomes Following Lymphedema Treatments

Surgical treatments for lymphedema may be appropriate when nonsurgical therapy is inadequate in maintaining well-controlled symptoms. To better understand surgical outcomes, a more comprehensive definition of surgical success and cure is a prerequisite. Tracking outcomes post lymphedema surgeries include the limb circumferential or volumetric measurement, skin tonometry, bioelectrical impedance, perometry, bioelectrical impedance, duplex ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, indocyanine green lymphography, and lymphoscintigraphy. The Cheng Lymphedema Grading system using objective measurements was proposed for evaluation and grading of the severity of lymphatic obstruction, selection of procedures, and improved communication about the disease. Several quality of life measures are used to assess the postoperative progress of lymphedema patients. Lymphedema care is a multidisciplinary endeavor, and standardization of measurement tools and documentation among all care teams are needed to better define outcomes. Tracking the long-term subjective and objective outcomes, including the patient’s report outcome measures, is mandatory to improve the quality of lymphedema treatments.