Addition of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression to Conventional Treatment Improves Volume Reduction Before Lymphatic Surgery for Lower Limb Lymphedema: A Pilot Study
Campisi CC, Parodi E, Demoro A, Risso R, Brinda WD, Campisi C. Addition of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression to Conventional Treatment Improves Volume Reduction Before Lymphatic Surgery for Lower Limb Lymphedema: A Pilot Study. Lymphology. 2023;56:72–81. This pilot study found that adding Lympha Press® advanced pneumatic compression to standard lymphedema therapy helped patients reduce lower-limb swelling more than standard therapy alone before lymphatic surgery.
In this study, 50 people with lower-limb lymphedema who were preparing for lymphatic microsurgery were divided into two groups. One group received standard in-clinic treatment, including multilayer bandaging, skin care, exercise, and mechanical lymphatic drainage. The other group received the same standard treatment plus daily use of the Lympha Press Optimal Plus advanced intermittent pneumatic compression system for two hours per day. The goal was to reduce limb swelling as much as possible before surgery. Patients who used the compression device in addition to standard care had about twice as much swelling reduction as those who received standard care alone. On average, the device group had an 11.7% limb-volume reduction, compared with 5.0% in the standard-treatment group. After accounting for differences in treatment length, the added benefit remained similar, with the compression-device group showing about 6.3% greater volume reduction overall. The study was small and designed as a pilot study, so larger studies are needed, but the results suggest that adding advanced pneumatic compression may help better prepare patients with lower-limb lymphedema for lymphatic surgery by reducing limb volume more effectively. Quote from study: “Based on the results of our trial, the data support that adding IPC to traditional treatments contributes to significant improvement compared to conventional treatment. This may be important since the device can also be used by the patient at home without professional healthcare assistance."
