Lymphedema Treatment and Management

Lymphedema is a condition in which the lymphatic system is damaged or impaired. Fluid accumulates in affected tissues, which causes swelling. Lymphedema most commonly affects arms or legs but can occur elsewhere in the body.

Through therapy and education, our team works with patients to manage the effects of swelling and to minimize the impact on patients’ lifestyle. During therapy, lymph nodes are massaged to remove fluid, and patients learn exercises to ease discomfort and ways to protect the skin against infection. Patients may be fitted with a compression garment.

Lymphedema Prevention Program

Cancer-related lymphedema is a condition that can result from surgical, radiation and chemotherapy treatments for some cancers. It may lead to abnormal swelling, discomfort and infections. Chronic lymphedema requires lifelong management.

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.

New Therapy Tool Progress

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 takes only 30 seconds to complete.

For best results, patients receive a baseline measurement before cancer treatment begins and are then tested regularly after 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.