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Introduction: Postoperative chronic lymphocele and lymphedema represent severe burdens for soft tissue sarcoma patients who are already physically handicapped after an extensive surgery and a long recovery time. Incidences are high in the upper medial thigh. We have shifted our focus to lymphedema and lymphocele risk reduction with immediate lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) after sarcoma resection., Methods: We performed immediate lymphatic reconstruction in 11 patients after soft tissue sarcoma resection in the upper medial thigh. The postoperative course was followed up closely, and postoperative occurrence of lymphocele and lymphedema was clinically assessed. A literature search outlining the latest clinical data, current treatment strategy landscape, and their application into clinical practice was added to the investigation., Results: A total of 19 LVA and 2 lympho-lymphatic anastomoses were performed in 11 patients immediately after tumor resection in an end-to-end manner. We found a postoperative lymphedema rate of 36% and a postoperative lymphocele rate of 27%. Mean follow-up time was 17 months. Average tumor volume was 749 cc. Our literature search yielded 27 articles reporting on immediate LVA in cancer patients. Incidences of secondary lymphedema after LVA for lymphedema prevention vary between 0% and 31.1%. Lymphocele prevention with LVA is poorly studied in sarcoma patients., Conclusion: Immediate lymphatic reconstruction improved the overall postoperative course of our patients. The current literature does not serve with high-quality studies about primary LVA preventing lymphedema and lymphocele formation. We conclude that this technique should be seen as an additional concept to achieve overall better postoperative outcomes in these challenging surgical settings. We strongly recommend to either anastomose or ligate severed lymphatics under the microscope primarily after sarcoma resection in the upper medial thigh area., Competing Interests: Nicole Lindenblatt acts as scientific advisor and consultant for Medical Microinstruments. The other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. No funding was received., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: In lymphatic reconstructive surgery, visualization of lymph vessels is of paramount importance. Indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography is the current gold standard in preoperative lymphatic imaging. However, visualization of lymph vessels is often limited by an overlying dermal backflow of ICG, becoming particularly prominent in advanced lymphedema stages. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) has recently been introduced as a promising noninvasive tool for lymphatic imaging. Methods and Results: A single-center proof-of-concept study with a prospective observational design was conducted at the Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery of the University Hospital Zurich. Between February 2021 and August 2021, seven patients with different grades of lymphedema were analyzed by the MSOT Acuity system before undergoing lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA). Conventional ICG lymphography served as comparison. MSOT succeeded to accurately depict blood and lymphatic vessels at different locations in six patients, including areas of dermal backflow. The MSOT signal of lymph vessels further correlated well with their macroscopic appearance. Conclusion: We could successfully visualize lymphatic vessels in patients with lymphedema by MSOT and establish the new method for preoperative mapping and selection of incision sites for LVA. Regardless of dermal backflow patterns, MSOT proved to be a valuable approach for identifying and clearly discerning between lymphatic and blood vessels.

Objective: Lymphedema is a chronic, progressive and burdensome disease that is known to have a substantial impact on quality of life (QOL). Hence, the assessment of QOL is an important aspect of any study which seeks to evaluate outcomes after lymph reconstructive surgery. We therefore aimed to analyze currently available patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMS) for patients with lower limb lymphedema (LLL) with regard to their psychometric properties. Furthermore, we intended to evaluate the change in QOL in patient undergoing lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) or vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT)., Methods: A literature research of four databases on studies that included PROMS for LLL was conducted. All selected studies were assessed for validity according Consensus-based Standards for the selection of Health Measurement Instruments. Studies that used the Lymph Quality of Life Measure for Limb Lymphedema (LYMQOL) after LVA and/or VLNT were included for quantitative analysis., Results: In total, 988 studies were screened, of which 30 studies were included in this review. We identified six validated PROMS to assess LLL. Of those, the LYMQOL was the most commonly used questionnaire. Based on the LYMQOL, a significant improvement of QOL in LLL was noted in all studies after reconstructive lymph surgery (LVA/VLNT) regardless of lymphedema etiology, stage, or time since diagnosis. On the basis of the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of Health Measurement Instruments criteria, the Lymphoedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire for Lower Limb Lymphoedema seems to be superior in terms of its psychometric properties., Conclusions: A significant improvement in the QOL in patients with LLL after reconstructive lymph surgery can be observed. Future studies on reconstructive lymph surgery need to include both objective and congruent volume measurements, as well as data on QOL based a well-validated PROM such as the Lymphoedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire for Lower Limb Lymphoedema., (Copyright © 2020 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Identification of patent lymphatic vessels without fibrosis and with high flow is difficult but crucial in the preoperative planning of lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA). Lymphatic vessels on the operating field cannot always be visualized preoperatively because of the anatomical and physiological characteristics of lymphedema tissue. The purposes of this study were to demonstrate our clinical experience in identifying indocyanine green (ICG)-negative lymphatics intraoperatively and to emphasize the therapeutic potential of performing anastomoses with ICG-negative lymphatics., Methods: Indocyanine green-positive lymphatic ducts were marked preoperatively in 5 patients with lower extremity lymphedema; moreover, if ICG-negative lymphatics were identified during surgery, they were used for additional LVA thus implementing multiple anastomoses in one surgical setting., Results: In total, 33 LVAs were performed in 5 patients with lower extremity lymphedema, of which 11 LVAs were implemented with ICG-negative lymphatics. Immediately after the anastomosis, a strong lymphatic drainage could be appreciated in all cases. Six months postoperatively patients reported a subjective decrease in limb circumference and pressure sensation., Conclusions: We believe that ICG-negative lymphatics found intraoperatively should be evaluated for additional LVAs in order to maximize drainage effect and might provide better outcomes.

Lymphedema most commonly occurs after cancer treatment and can affect limbs and genitalia. Genital lymphedema (GL) is a rare condition and can be disabling psychologically and physically. It often occurs along with lower extremity lymphedema (LEL). Conservative and physiologic reconstructive surgery such as lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) offer good treatment options for LEL. GL however remains a reconstructive dilemma. The most effective surgical therapies in advanced GL are still debulking procedures in properly selected patients. Here, we present the surgical treatment of a 51 -year-old male patient with advanced and combined genital and right lower extremity lymphedema after Hodgkin lymphom treatment in the childhood. We performed multiple LVA to the right ankle joint, distal lower leg and lateral knee and 2 months later patient reported a significant decrease of pain and pressure in affected limb while the scrotal and penis lymphedema did not show any signs of improvement at all. Four months later, 4.9 kg of excessive lymphedematous tissue from the genital area was resected and covered by split-thickness skin grafts from the unaffected left upper thigh. The postoperative course was uneventful and 3 weeks postoperatively the skin graft healed completely. Follow up at 6 months showed reasonable cosmetic and functional outcomes and the patient reported a significant improvement of quality of life. We believe that debulking procedures and LVA may be combined in advanced GL and LEL and may provide good outcomes., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)