Help for Lymphedema

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, March 21, 2007; 12:00 AM

By Rebekah Addy, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The removal of lymph nodes is an important part of breast cancer surgery, but studies show between 5 percent and 50 percent of patients develop lymphedema, or swelling of the arms, from it. Now, one surgeon has developed a new procedure to prevent the painful side effect.

V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., director at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Favetteville, developed a procedure called Axillary Reverse Mapping (ARM), where doctors inject a blue dye in the patient's arm, allowing them to clearly see where the lymph nodes are located and enabling them to have more precision, thereby preventing lymphedema.

There are currently no other procedures available to prevent lymphedema. "This is a big deal because it should prevent lymphedema because we haven't injured the lymph vessels coming out of the arm," Dr. Klimberg told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Klimberg says for some patients, the pain of lymphedema can feel worse than getting a mastectomy. Patient Pat Sharpitis got lymphedema after five years of battling breast cancer. "I couldn't unbend my hand -- it was so tight," Sharpitis told Ivanhoe. "I had to go through some heavy therapy. Now some of the swelling is down, but it's embarrassing sometimes." 

Sharpitis has learned to live with it over the years saying, "It is a sad thing. You can't wear jewelry on your hands, and I was a jewelry person."

The procedure can be done while in the operating room. Dr. Klimberg recently presented her procedure at the Society of Surgical Oncology 60th Annual Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C. Ethicon, a branch of Johnson and Johnson has agreed to travel the country and present a teaching seminar on ARM. Dr. Klimberg and her colleagues are looking into starting clinical trials to better understand ARM.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., University of Arkansas for Medical Science