Lymphedema Update

Yesterday I had my physiotherapy appointment for lymphedema in my right arm. The first thing the physiotherapist asked me, when I had my surgery, when I first noticed swelling in my arm and if I had ever had any infection in my right arm or right chest area. I said yes in fact I have ... back in April of this year, my CVC (central line catheter) did get infected. I whipped down my collar and showed her my CVC hole ... she said, “Oh, that isn’t healing is it?” and I said, “No.” So that is what likely sparked the lymphedema.

The next thing the physiotherapist did is measure the circumference of my left arm starting at the hand and ending at the elbow ... in two inch increments. She then did the same for the right arm but she measured the circumference all the way to my arm pit. She couldn’t do this with my left arm because I have a PICC line in the way. She then took these numbers and inputted them into a computer program that spit out some info. The measurements gave a total volume for the right arm which included everything from the hand to the armpit and secondly, it compared numbers for the two arms. Because I’m right handed, it is considered my preferred arm and should be three to four per cent larger than my left. What we found is that it is ten per cent larger which indicated edema.

Anyways, I walked out with a temporary compression sleeve and a half mitt and written instructions on how to maintain the sleeve and how to look after my arm. One of the things I did learn is that my arm is now prone to infection. Something as simple as an insect bit or scratch could become an issue.

My next appointment is in a month at which point we will re-evaluate the situation. I will turn in the temporary sleeve and mitt and purchase one of my own ... assuming this combination works out well. With the half mitt there is a chance that fluid will be pushed into the fingers. Should that become an problem we will turn to a glove where the fingers are all cut off.