Quantitative Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Lymphedema

Lee, Chang-Hyung

doi:10.67326/cll.2017.2.2.36

Clin. Lymphology Lymphedema 2017; 2(2):36-42

pISSN: 2508-190X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.67326/cll.2017.2.2.36

REVIEW ARTICLE

Quantitative Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Lymphedema

Chang-Hyung Lee ¹ ^, ^*

Author Information & Copyright ▼

¹Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea

^*Corresponding Author : Chang-Hyung Lee, MD, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, 20, Geumo-ro, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan 50612, Korea, Tel: +82-55-360-2873, Fax: +82-55-360-4251, E-mail: aarondoctor@gmail.com

ⓒ Copyright 2017 Korean Society of Lymphology and Lymphedema. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Oct 23, 2017; Accepted: Oct 31, 2017

Published Online: Nov 30, 2017

Abstract

There are several techniques to measure the state of the lymphedema. One of the most popular methods is using ultrasonography with consideration of the structure of the affected area. Thus the purpose of this article was to compare the clinical usefulness of the ultrasonographic techniques in measurement of lymphedema. The general measurement techniques of the lymphedema using ultrasonography were illustrated. The soft tissue thickness measurement of the lymphedema is most commonly performed using ultrasonography. The other method is measuring the lymphedema in two dimensional aspect. To increase the reliability and measure the hardness, compliance measurement of the lymphedema is suggested. Lastly, elastography technique was suggested to measure the hardness of the lymphedema. Ultrasonographic measurement has the advantages of fast, safe, costless, and repeatable. With more studies regarding cut off value and guidelines, it could strongly be recommended as a measurement tool of lymphedema in clinical settings.

Keywords: Lymphedema; Cancere patients; Ultrasonographic measurement; Structural measurement; Reliability