Lymphedema

Lymphedema, also known as lymphatic obstruction, is a notoriously debilitating progressive condition. The unfortunate patient faces a lifelong struggle of medical, and sometimes surgical, treatment fraught with potentially lethal complications.

The underlying problem is lymphatic dysfunction, resulting in an abnormal accumulation of interstitial fluid containing high molecular weight proteins. This condition underscores the tremendous importance of a normally functioning lymphatic system, which returns proteins, lipids, and accompanying water from the interstitium to the venous circulation near the subclavian vein - internal jugular vein junction, bilaterally. The danger with lymphedema comes from the constant risk of developing an uncontrolled infection in the affected limb.

Symptoms of this disease may include fatigue, a heavy swollen limb or localized fluid acumulation in other body areas, including the head or neck, discoloration of the skin overlying the lymphedema, and eventually deformity (elephantiasis).


[External Links]
Information from emedicine.medscape.com
Information from mayoclinic.com