Summary
Objectives
Primary lymphoedema is said to be caused by lymph duct malformations, lymphatic hypoplasia
or lymphatic agenesis, but no definite treatment has been established. In this study,
we used magnetic resonance thoracic ductography (MRTD) to assess the morphology of
the thoracic duct in patients with primary lymphoedema.
Methods
The study was conducted on nine patients with primary lymphoedema who were hospitalised
at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (University of Tokyo Hospital)
from September 2007 through April 2011.
Results
The patients consisted of five men and four women, aged 20–54 years (mean age: 31.1
years). Five of them were in early-onset group and the rest were in late-onset group.
In the 6 months prior to the onset of oedema, three of the four patients in the late-onset
group had episodes of trauma near the areas which would later be affected by lymphoedema.
MRTD showed no clear image of the thoracic duct in four of five patients in the early-onset
group.
Conclusions
MRTD assessment of patients diagnosed as ‘primary lymphoedema’ indicates that the
pathogenetic mechanisms seen in late-onset patients are completely different from
those found in early-onset patients, and may be classified as ‘traumatic lymphoedema.’
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 09, 2012
Accepted:
April 30,
2012
Received:
November 4,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
