Lymphedema...a post-op pictorial

Good job Sarah!

You look great!  Your legs look so much better & more comfortable... and your tummy... WOW!!!!  Congratulations!!!!!!

Wow Sarah!  That's a great improvement.  I hope it continues to get better for you. Linda

Sarah,  What an incredible difference!!!  You have been thru so much - thank you for sharing your journey with all of us.   My aunt who had WLS also had lymphedema - and it was a struggle for her to walk every day.    I would love to see a cure of lymphedema... maybe one day huh? Kim

 Sarah ..  for your daily compression garment, do you wear FerraWraps, or some kind of sleeves?  The Ferrawraps make taking on/off so easy ..  I had a pair  custom made for me (feet to below knee) pre-op just before my flight down to Brazil, but never actually wore them (I intended to start wearing them after my surgery) ..  But now they are too large b/c of my big weight loss (ugh - spent $600 for nothing!) ..   I intend to get a new set made up some day (as well as resume MLDT) and try to get "normal" for once!      Have you also used the eggcrate foam under the wraps to try to soften the fibrotic tissue?  I've heard that technique will do the job about 80% of the time ..    Are you able to do your own MLDT massage and wrappings since you lost weight?   Speaking of getting "normal", have you tried any pumps yet?   I know until recently they were telling us LEers they are verbotten, in that they can make the LE worse in adjacent areas of the body, but apparenlty an expert doc gave a presentation at the recent Lighthouse LE Foundation conference in ATL, where he informed everyone that pumps supposedly CAN be an asset, but they must be used at higher pressures than they were before.      As to the skin discoloration, I asked Dr. Flavia, my surgeon Dr. Antelmo's wife (she is a dermatologist) while I was in Brazil about the possibility of using a laser to gently remove it, in the same way they are used to remove old tattoots these days ..  (after all, the red/brown discoloration is caused by the stagnation of hemoglobin in the tissues, akin to a "tattooing" process!)  ..  She seemed to think it might just work, but one concern would be that the laser might damage the lympatics further ..    &:-/)       (oh well, some day stem cell research will supposedly yield a cure for us finally ..  will we live to see it, though?)     btw - I posted an article on the LE Forum yesterday re:  how the obesity epidemic in the U.S. is also causing a great increase in the incidence of LE, unfortunately  ..   &:-(...

Paul, My husband's lymphedema was mild compared to some but still was cause for two hospitalizations due to leg infections.  Luckily his lymphedema was limited to his calves and mostly his right calf which was 6-7" wider in diameter compared to the left.  He had the problem for at least 10 years with no diagnosis.  They always thought he had clots and would do doppler scans.

We thought weight loss would help the issue but after more than 100 lbs gone from body, no change in the leg so he sought out MLD.  The therapist used textured foam (not eggcrate - she made her own using cut up foam put between two very wide pieces of adhesive stuck together) under his wrapping. Here is his before picture showing the leg issue: http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL894/3607973/7426850/9703309 2.jpg And here is after zsome weight loss but more importantly after 3 weeks of MLD: http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL894/3607973/7426850/9964611 8.jpg It was nothing short of a miracle that after daily MLD for just 3 weeks... his right leg measured a wee bit smaller than the left and the left one got a bit smaller so it had a tiny bit of lymphedema.  He doesn't wrap it anymore and wears compression hose to the knee under long pants and that keeps it completely under control. He does have alot of discoloration on that leg but like you eluded to... with drainage issues do you want to purposely cause some "damage" to the leg using a laser that might or might not cause problems. Best wishes, Kathy

Amazing, Kathy (& Rich)!   I guess  Rich's pics show II might get close to "normal" if I resume wrappings and MLDT ..  I'm so tired of wearing open-toed surgical ("cast") shoes everywhere I go (even court) for "shoes", with my toes peeking out.  In cold weather, it's probably dangerous having exposed toes like that, time time of year .. esp. since there is not much feeling in them due to the chronic LE swelling (and probably some from 9 years of Type II diabetes), pre -op) ..  (I have yet to find any socks big enough to fit over them)    Oh well, when they call me "Bigfoot", at least it's not b/c of any body smell!   &:-D)    as to the discoloration, the only thing I could think of if the laser doesn't work is to just really get a good overall dark tan so that they blend in better with the rest of me, althoug they warn us never to "tan" LE limbs ..   (UGH!)     I guess we just be freaks ..   &:-(...    thanks again for your post and thinking of me .. 

Paul, My daily compression garments are Jobst Elvarex. My very first treatment ever was a lymphapress, they put me in the hospital for a week to monitor me while I did the initial pump down. I then took the pump home to use 4-6 hours a day and also had MLD.  When I moved here to FL, the therapists got me reidsleeves to wear at night. I still have the pump but do not use it, the sleeve for it is too big now anyway. As far as wrapping myself, I have never been able to because of my size, I honestly haven't tried since having my panni removed last December, my legs are doing well...I actually got rid of the wraps I had because they were going on 5 years old. Yes my therapists used the eggcrate padding among many types.

WOW! is all I can say.  You have come a mighty long way and I am soooooooooooo happy, proud and inspired by you!!!! you are a great advocate to many and that is what counts! Thanks for sharing!

Sarah you are doing so great!.... I have a cousin that has Lymphedema..... it is mainly on here lower legs...her top part of her body is extremely thin....almost too thin.. She has been sticking her finger down her throat to make herself throw up..... She is losing weight ...but I have tried to tell her how dangerous it is...she will not listen... She is 61 years old...... So she "thinks" she knows everything. They don't have health insurance.... so she says she is just doing what she has too!  It is sad.... I worry about her.  I'll stop I am just venting. Have a GREAT day!