title: Lymphatic mapping and preoperative imaging in the management of post-mastectomy lymphoedema.
abstract: Early detection and diagnosis of upper extremity lymphoedema in patients after mastectomy and axillary lymph node clearance is important in order to treat disease before it is too advanced to achieve favourable outcomes. Patients with disease refractory to conservative management can be efficiently assessed for diagnosis and surgical intervention using advanced lymphatic imaging techniques. The current paper highlights the more readily available of these: lymphoscintigraphy, indocyanine green (ICG) lymphangiography and immunofluorescence, magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) and computed tomographic lymphangiography in combination or individually. With such techniques, both diagnosis and treatment of lymphoedema has become more readily achieved, with lymphatico-venous and lymphatico-lymphatic anastomosis, and lymph node transfer now increasingly common undertakings.
authors.affiliation: 1 St. Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Broomfield Hospital, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 7ET, UK ; 2 Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Science at Monash Health, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia ; 3 Department of Surgery, Monash University, Level 5, E Block, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chowdhry
authors.affiliation: 1 St. Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Broomfield Hospital, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 7ET, UK ; 2 Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Science at Monash Health, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia ; 3 Department of Surgery, Monash University, Level 5, E Block, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Warren Matthew
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Rozen
authors.affiliation: 1 St. Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Broomfield Hospital, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 7ET, UK ; 2 Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Science at Monash Health, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia ; 3 Department of Surgery, Monash University, Level 5, E Block, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Griffiths
keywords: Lymphoscintigraphy; indocyanine green (ICG); lymph node; lymphangiography lymphatico-venous