Surgical management of thirty-nine children with lymphedema.
Thirty-nine children underwent staged excisional surgery for lymphedema. The procedures are described in detail. All the children operated on have improved and have a more normal appearance. The decrease in attacks of cellulitis and lymphangitis is striking. The morbidity of this simple procedure is negligible. The operation is tedious, fatiguing, anatomically unexciting, and has a vague end-point. At this time, staged subcutaneous excision appears to be the procedure of choice in moderate to severe lymphedema in children regardless of etiology or classification. The procedure is not a cure.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007866:Leg / Q000601:surgery; D008209:Lymphedema / Q000601:surgery*; D008722:Methods