Overcoming Barriers to Successful Lymphaticovenular Anastomosis

With the increased awareness about lymphedema, patients seeking intervention during the early stage of the disease are increasing. At the same time, the recent advances in supermicrosurgery have improved the outcomes of lymphaticovenular anastomosis (LVA) in early lymphedema. Despite the proven potential of this minimally invasive procedure, LVA is not widely practiced. The popularity of LVA has been low as compared to procedures like vascularized lymph node transplants due to inconsistent results among lymphedema surgeons. In this chapter, we discuss the elements that decide the success of LVA, including proper patient selection, meticulous execution of the procedure, and effective postoperative care.