title: A Prospective Evaluation of Lymphedema-Specific Quality-of-Life Outcomes Following Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microsurgical techniques for the treatment of lymphedema rapidly increased in popularity. Although surgical success with vascularized lymph node (VLN) transfer has been demonstrated, limited studies have investigated the influence of microsurgical treatments on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) parameters. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate changes in HRQoL following VLN transfer for upper- and lower-extremity lymphedema using a validated instrument.
  
  
  METHODS
  An Institutional Review Board-approved prospective study was performed of patients who underwent VLN transfer for symptomatic upper- or lower-limb lymphedema. A validated lymphedema-specific questionnaire-lymphoedema quality-of-life study-was utilized to assess specific quality-of-life parameters at multiple time points during the 12-month perioperative period. For a comparison with HRQoL metrics, limb circumference measurements were obtained to assess circumference differentiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five patients met the study criteria. Limb circumference analysis revealed significant early improvements following VLN transfer, with continued improvement during the study period (upper-limb lymphedema: 24.4 %; lower-limb lymphedema: 35.2 %). These improvements were mirrored by improvements in all HRQoL domains and overall quality of life (p < 0.01). The function, body appearance, symptom, and mood domains were all found to be significantly improved during the postoperative evaluation, with continued improvement being reported throughout the study period (p < 0.01 within each domain).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microsurgical treatment of lymphedema with VLN transfer procedures effectively decrease limb circumference. This improvement is mirrored by improvements in patient-reported outcomes and quality of life. These changes can be observed as soon as 1 month postoperatively, and continued steady improvement can be expected.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ketan M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Chia-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Huei
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000294:innervation / Q000637:transplantation*; D008209:Lymphedema / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires