Editors: Ming-Huei Cheng, MD; David W. Chang, MD; and Ketan M. Patel, MD
Publisher: Elsevier – 220 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

Essentially, lymphedema is edema or buildup of fluid in the lymphatic system. It is often caused by an injury that can create an obstruction.  So excessive fluid is retained, which causes a swelling, instead of returning to the bloodstream.

Lymphedema affects about 140 million people worldwide, according to a Wikipedia article. While lymphedema can be inherited, it is caused not only by what we cite above, but also by cancer treatments and by parasitic infections. There are a number of treatments to ameliorate lymphedema, including surgery, which are covered in this book.

Severe lymphedema, if not treated surgically or otherwise, can cause long-term disability and functional impairment in daily living.

Current care of lymphedema patients incorporates valuable surgical options which include: microsurgical techniques such as lymphovenous bypass, lymphatic grating, and vascularized lymph node transfers. View these and other procedures in pages of this book as well as in the videos (some of which we list below) through electronic access.

Thirty-seven doctors and non-medical specialists in areas relevant to the subject of this book (lymphatic surgery, microsurgery, plastic surgery, vascular surgery, etc.) from the United States and seven other countries – Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland and Taiwan – wrote the 24 chapters of this book organized around these four sections:

  1. Concepts and Principles
  2. Nonsurgical Treatment
  3. Surgical Treatment
  4. Outcomes

Elsevier offers enhanced eBooks for medical professionals. Compatible with PC, Mac, most mobile devices and eReaders, ExpertConsult allows you to browse, search and interact with this title – online and offline.

To get access to the contents of this book and other information online, first redeem your PIN from the inside front cover of the book. Here’s what you do:

  1. Login or Sign Up at www.ExpertConsult.com
  2. Scratch off the gray stickler on the inside from cover to get your PIN code
  3. Enter PIN into the Redeem a Book Code box at the above website
  4. Click Redeem
  5. Go to My Library

Once you have logged in, these are the innovative features available to you online:

  • Seamless, real-time integration between devices
  • Straightforward navigation and search
  • Notes and highlights sharing with other users through social media
  • Enhanced images with annotations, labels, and hot spots for zooming on specific details *
  • Live streaming video and animations
  • Self-assessment tools such as questions embedded within the text and multiple-format quizzes. *Some features vary by title

Video Content

As a purchaser of this book, you can view a number of surgical procedures. We list below six of the 20 video titles in bold, under the print edition chapter numbers and names:

 

  • 8. Physiologic Principles of Lymphatic Microsurgery:  
  • 8.1: Indocyanine Green (ICG) Injection
  • 10. Overview of Surgical Techniques 
  • 10.1: Lymphovenous bypass end-to-end technique
  • 11. Excisional Procedures and Their Combinations With Lymphatic Microsurgery
  • 11.1: Supraclavicular lymph node transfer and modified Charles procedure for lower limb lymphedema
  • 13. Recipient Site Selection in Vascularized Lymph Node Flap Transfer
  • 13.1:  Vascularized lymph node transfer to the elbow
  • 13.2:  Vascularized lymph node transfer to the wrist
  • 13.3:  Vascularized lymph node transfer to the ankle
  • 14. Microsurgical Procedures: Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer From the Groin
  • 14.1: Recipient site preparation for vascularized lymph node transfer-axilla
  • 15. Microsurgical Procedures: Combined Microvascular Breast Reconstruction and Lymph Node Transfer
  • 15.1: Harvest of composite abdominal flap/groin lymph nodes 

Among the benefits of owning this book are the following:

  • Gain thorough and in-depth step-by-step guidance to incorporate the treatment of lymphedema in your practice
  • Locate key content easily and identify clinical conditions quickly thanks to concise, strictly templated chapters packed with full-color illustrations and clinical photographs
  • Avoid pitfalls and achieve the best outcomes thanks to a step-by-step approach to each procedure, complete with tips and tricks of the trade from leading experts in plastic surgery and lymphedema microsurgery
  • Hone and expand your surgical skills by watching of leading international experts performing advanced techniques including: end-to-end lymphovenous bypass, end-to-side lymphovenous bypass, submental vascularized lymph node flap, supraclavicular vascularized lymph node flap, and lymphatic vessel mapping with Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescent imaging
  • Assessment treatment outcomes using well-described and highly regarded scientific methodology
  • ExpertConsult eBook version included with purchase. This enhanced eBook experience allows you to search all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

This is an excellent and rare resource for the study of lymphedema and its care, particularly lymphedema surgery.

 

Editors:

Ming-Huei Cheng, MD, MBA, FACS is Professor in the Division of Reconstructive Microsurgery in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Chang Gung University College of Medicine in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

David W. Chang, MD, FACS is Professor of Surgery in the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois.

Ketan M. Patel, MD is Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.