Lymphedema Management

Overview

Lymphedema is an abnormal accumulation of protein-rich fluid under your skin. The body’s lymphatic system, when working normally, acts like a waste removal system, eliminating this fluid. This system also helps to fight infection. When your lymphatic system is disrupted, fluid can “back up,” causing swelling in the arms, legs, head, neck, or trunk.

Lymphedema is common in cancer patients following surgeries that involve lymph node removal and radiation treatments. It may also result from a surgical procedure or inherited condition or occur as a long-term complication of another disease process.

Your Visit

Our trained Certified Lymphedema Therapists (CLT) will provide you with one-on-one treatment sessions to help manage your lymphedema. You will learn:

• Instructions regarding skin care, infection control, and safe exercises
• Lymphatic drainage techniques to move extra lymph fluid out of the swollen area
• Methods for bandaging the swollen area to help reduce the buildup of lymph fluid
• Recommendations for long term compression garment use

Our Prevention Approach

Cancer-related lymphedema of the arms and legs develops in stages. When it is caught
early, it can be treated and stopped before it gets worse and becomes a lifelong condition.
Our new technology, the SOZO® Digital Health Platform, provides an L-DEX® score to help
detect lymphedema before you feel noticeable swelling. This early alert allows us to work
with you to take steps to stop lymphedema from getting worse, or to avoid getting it at all.

SOZO with L-Dex

The L-Dex score helps us assess whether you are developing lymphedema before you feel
noticeable swelling. For best results, patients receive a baseline measurement before
cancer treatment begins and are then tested regularly aer treatment. If your L-Dex score
increases above normal levels, we will evaluate you for early signs of lymphedema. If you
don’t get a pre-treatment baseline score, we can still use the L-Dex test to help detect
lymphedema early. The SOZO device is used to measure your L-Dex score. It looks like a
scale, but it has places for you to put your hands and feet. You will not feel the SOZO test
and it only takes 30 seconds to complete