(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – For millions of women who have overcome breast cancer, the challenge is not over. Up to 40 percent of women who undergo surgery, radiation and chemotherapy will develop lymphedema as a side effect of their treatment. Lymphedema is a persistent and often painful condition that can cause swelling in a woman’s arms, legs, hands or feet.
“Lymphedema is not only a constant reminder of their battle with cancer, it’s an extremely uncomfortable condition that greatly impacts their quality of life,” said Roman Skoracki, MD, chief of oncologic plastic surgery at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James).
“We’ve never had many options for treating patients with lymphedema, but fortunately that’s changing.”
Skoracki is among a handful of surgeons in the United States performing two novel surgeries that are shown to be effective in reducing lymphedema. During lymph node bypass surgery, Skoracki uses supermicrosurgical techniques to create shunts between the lymphatic channels and very small blood vessels to re-direct the flow of lymph fluids around the affected area, which in some cases can prevent lymphedema from forming at all. “Using this technique, we’re able reduce a woman’s risk of developing lymphedema by 90 percent,” he said.
Skoracki is also pioneering lymph node transfer surgery, where he harvests healthy lymph nodes from another part of the body and transfers them to the area of a woman’s body affected by lymphedema.
