ABSTRACT
Two imaging systems designed for plethysmography purposes are used to investigate venous capacity as well as maximum venous outflow. A series of pictures of the extremity are taken during a subsystolic blood obstruction. As a result, capacity as well as maximum outflow can be plotted as locally resolved profiles alongside the axis of the extremity. The advantage of the new method compared to conventional plethysmography is discussed.
Subject(s)
Plethysmography/instrumentation , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation , Venous Insufficiency/diagnosis , Venous Pressure/physiology , Humans , Reference Values , Venous Insufficiency/physiopathologyABSTRACT
A new optic-electronic method for measuring arm volume was used on 275 women before and after mastectomy for carcinoma of the breast. Two weeks after modified radical mastectomy, an increase of over 150 ml in arm volume over the preoperative value was recorded in 12% of patients. Lymphoedema was demonstrated on average 19.3 months after the operation and telecobalt treatment in 42% of 200 women so treated; in 17% it was of moderately severe to severe degree (over 400 ml). In patients with severe lymphoedema a 15-day period of treatment reduced the oedema volume on average by 383 ml (62.1%). The described optic-electronic volumetric method makes it possible to obtain an objective comparison of swelling of the arm and thus early recognition and treatment of lymphoedema, as well as providing a means of assessing the effectiveness of any treatment.
