Early Screening and Management for Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema

HKMU Physiotherapy Centre Our Services Early Screening and Management for Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema

Early Screening and Management Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema

 Perometry

What is Lymphoedema?

Lymphoedema is a common complication in breast cancer survivors, which could be triggered during post surgeries when axillary lymph nodes are removed.

Patients who are obese and have undergone radiotherapy or chemotherapy are at higher risk of developing lymphedema. 

  • Lymphoedema is an ongoing condition that disrupts lymph flow, leading to swelling in the upper limb. Lymphoedema can not be completely cured, which potentially recurs months or years after treatment.
  •  Early screening and management is the key to preventing it from starting and making it easier to manage.

Assessment and Treatment 

We perform a detailed assessment of your medical history and current symptoms. Perometry and Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) measurement would be applied to provide objective data, along with the muscle power and skin integrity assessment.

  1. Perometry is an advanced method to obtain a reliable measurement of arm size. It will generate objective data for both clinical and research use. 
  2. Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) is a non-invasive approach to measure your  total body water, extracellular and intracellular fluid ratio, allowing physiotherapists to monitor the progression of lymphoedema.
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Management of Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema

  • Education of prevention and self-care
  • Exercise therapy 
  • Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
  • Compression Bandaging 
  • Garment application 

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