Surgical treatment of lymphedema: a systematic review and meta-analysis / 中华整形外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#The purpose of this study is to systematically review the literature about surgical management of lymphedema, to provide recomendations for the surgical treatment plan of the disease.@*Methods@#Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases were searched from January 1st, 2007 to October 1st, 2017 for the literature related to the surgical treatment of lymphedema. Data were extracted from clinical studies matching our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was performed with R 3.4.2.@*Results@#71 studies were included, out of which 4 studies described were excision, 9 were liposuction, 33 were lymphvenous anastomosis(LVA), 23 were vascularized lymph node transfer(VLNT) and 5 were combined therapy. The excess volume reduction were averaged 96.86%(95%CI 87.38%—106.33%, I2=0%)for liposuction, 34.64%(95%CI 19.80%—49.47%, I2=72%)for LVA, 36.85%(95%CI 12.40%—61.30%, I2=81%) for VLNT.@*Conclusions@#With further understanding of the pathophysiology of lymphedema and development of radiologic and surgical technique, surgical treatment has the potential to play an important role in lymphedema complex management.