Combining reconstructive and ablative surgical treatment of chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL): safe and effective

Purpose We investigated whether a one-stage combination of vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT) with water jet-assisted liposuction (WAL) can be safely performed and results in improved patient outcomes such as a greater reduction in arm volume when treating chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we included all patients from our encrypted lymphedema database treated for chronic BCRL with VLNT or VLNT + WAL who had a minimum follow-up of two years. We analyzed patient-specific variables including arm circumferences as well as patient-reported outcomes before and after surgery as well as surgery time, surgery-related complications and patient satisfaction. Results Only the mean preoperative differences of the circumferences between the lymphedematous and the unaffected arm in individual patients showed a statistically significant difference between treatment groups ( p