Lymphedema is under-diagnosed and under-recognized and can lead to recurrent bouts of cellulitis with hospitalizations, decreased functional abilities, chronic wounds, and diminished quality of life. Self-assessment of edema and quality of life surveys could be compared to the number of diagnoses made by healthcare professionals practicing in the same locations. This may help steer targeted educational campaigns aimed... more »

Clinicians will be trained to use the LLCS via on-line learning, and provided with access to free downloads of the tool. Developed in collaboration with national wound care, lymphedema, and vascular organizations, this tool includes practice guidelines and treatment recommendations. Complexity scores, tracked over time along with treatment interventions, is expected to correlate with reduced costs of recurrent hospitalizations... more »

Edema volume reduction has been used as a benchmark for showing improvements with lymphedema treatment, but equally important is the remodeling of skin and connective tissue to a more normalized state. This study aims to assess and track skin and subcutaneous tissue inflammation, connective tissue remodeling, and lymph capillary regeneration as a result of new manual lymphatic drainage techniques.