ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Acta Phlebologica 2016 August;17(2):58-60

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Association of elastic stockings and mechanical lymphatic therapy

Carlos A. CARVALHO ¹, Jose M. PEREIRA DE GODOY ², Livia M. PEREIRA DE GODOY ^{3, 4}, Renata LOPES PINTO ⁴, Maria F. GUERREIRO GODOY ^{1, 4}

¹ Medicine School, FAMERP, São José do Rio Preto, Brazil; ² Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Medicine School, FAMERP, São José do Rio Preto, Brazil; ³ Medicine School of Lusiadas, Santos, Brazil; ⁴ Godoy Clinic, São Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil

BACKGROUND: Compression mechanisms are essential in the treatment of lymphovenous diseases as they help to reduce the swelling and to maintain the results. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the association of Mechanical Lymphatic Therapy with elastic stockings in the treatment of leg lymphedema.
METHODS: The daily evolution of treatment for grade II lymphedema was evaluated in a prospective clinical study. The 14 legs of seven women with bilateral edema of whatever cause were treated using the RAGodoy® Mechanical Lymphatic Therapy device and Venosan ® 20/30 knee-length elastic compression stockings for two weeks. The volume of each leg was evaluated before and after each daily treatment session by bioimpedance. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Medicine School in São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP). The paired t-test was used for statistical analysis, with an alpha error of 5% (P-value <0.05) being considered significant.
RESULTS: Positive and negative variations in the volume of the legs were detected compared to the previous day, but overall the treatment still reduced the volume and there was a significant reduction by the end of the two-week treatment period (P-value <0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Elastic stockings associated with Mechanical and Manual Lymphatic Therapy cause positive and negative variations during treatment although overall the edema continually reduces during treatment.