If you wish to explore this possibility, you must first be a good candidate for surgery. This means that:
- You will no longer have active cancer or be undergoing treatment for cancer. You will also not have severe venous insufficiency, and your BMI will be below 35 or 40.
- You will have undergone more than one cycle of conservative treatment with decongestive lymphatic therapy. You will have complied with bandaging, draining, curative exercises, well-fitting compression garments and will be under the care of a certified lymphedema therapist.
- You will have mastered all the elements of self-management for some time, as the ability to self-bandage, self-monitor, self-massage and self-observe is required during your post-surgical recovery and absolutely necessary to maintain the eventual results of lymphatic surgery.
- You and your therapist will have noticed unsatisfactory results, such as volume remaining large, daily discomfort, persistent pain, recurrent cellulite, despite your compliance with the treatments.
- You will have obtained information from reliable sources, such as the LAQ Therapeutic Support Program.
- You will have set realistic expectations, knowing that the percentage of volume reduction or increase in range of motion, for example, is not guaranteed. That you will still need to wear a compression garment after surgery, and that you will need to maintain a self-management routine, which we hope will be less restrictive and costly.
- You will consult a surgeon who specializes in lymphedema and is experienced in lymphatic surgery. After carrying out imaging tests such as lymphoscintigraphy, this professional will be able to advise you on the most appropriate surgical technique for the lymphatic damage in your affected limb. This specialist will have instilled confidence in you through his or her knowledge, experience, multidisciplinary team, available technology, attentiveness, availability to answer your questions and transparency regarding possible outcomes.
- You will have obtained a referral from your certified therapist or physician to access a lymphatic surgery consultation.
In Québec, various lymphatic surgery techniques such as lymphatic-venous anastomosis and/or vascularized lymph node transfer are offered at the following hospital centres:
- Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (HMR)
- Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
- McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
© Association québécoise du lymphœdème.
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