Tissue Elastography Assessement and Cuteous and Cubcutaneous Thickness Measurement Following Manual Lymph Drainage in Legs With Lymphedema

Interest of the Ultrasound Follow-up of Lymphedema by Elastography Assessment and Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Thickness Measurement During Intensive Treatment of Lymphedema.

Tissue Elastography Assessement and Cuteous and Cubcutaneous Thickness Measurement Following Manual Lymph Drainage in Legs With Lymphedema

Hence the importance of evaluating the impact of an intensive five-day decongestive treatment on lymphedema in terms of cutaneous flexibility and edema regression.

Patients who are undergoing intensive decongestive treatment for four or five days in the department perform an ultrasound check/examiantion on the first day.

During this echography, in 5 usual measurement points are made an ultrasound image recording (for measurement of cutaneous and subcutaneous thicknesses) and an elastography sequence (an instantaneous measurement).

The study hypothesis is to note that intensive decongestive treatment has an impact on tissues flexibility and cutaneous and subcutaneous thickness.

No many authors discussed this suject, hence the interest of this study. All the data collected and the results obtained will serve for further studies.

Inclusion criteria:

• Major patients with unilateral or bilateral lymphedema of the lower limb (s), stage II or III, of primary or secondary origin
• Major patients with admitted for the realization of an Intensive Decongestive Treatment (TDI) of three to five days in the lymphology unit of the Saint Eloi hospital, of Montpellier UHC.

Exclusion criteria:

• Patients with different lymphedema localisation than the lower limbs
• Patient with amputated
• patient not consenting or included in another clinical research study.