Reduction of postoperative swelling with a negative pressure treatment—A prospective study

Abstract

Purpose: Perioperative swelling and edema are the main factors that influence the time to definitive operative care, healing rate, as well as postoperative infection rate. Device-based negative pressure treatment is a new method to reduce post-traumatic and postoperative swelling of the upper extremities. The objective of this study was to evaluate a new negative pressure treatment with LymphaTouch® (Helsinki, Finland) to reduce perioperative swelling in upper extremity injuries. Methods: We analyzed 45 patients (26 female and 19 male) after operative treatment of upper extremity injuries. A predefined treatment algorithm of 30 min using LymphaTouch® was performed on the patients every day for five consecutive days. Swelling was measured according to the neutral-zero method with six points of measurement. Results: A total of 16 patients underwent an operation on their upper arm. An average of 3.5 measurements was performed per patient, with the start of therapy at a mean of 5.13 days after the operation. All of the measured circumferences except the elbow and 10 cm below the elbow were reduced from day 0 to 3. The percent reduction of swelling (relative to day 0) was 10.36%, 11.35%, 17.34%, and 3.25% for days 1–4, respectively. The greatest reduction of circumference was obtained in the metacarpus (−51.6%) and wrist (−33.1%). Conclusion: The LymphaTouch® system and a 30-min treatment program can reduce postoperative swelling of the upper arm, wrist, and hand on the first 5 days after surgery. The ease of learning and self-applicability of LymphaTouch® makes it interesting for further controlled randomized trials.

Postoperative swelling after elbow surgery: influence of a negative pressure application in comparison to manual lymphatic drainage—a randomized controlled trial

“…Saul et al investigated the effect of negative pressure treatment on the upper extremity within a single-center prospective study in 45 patients. Consistent with our findings, they showed that negative pressure therapy could effectively reduce acute limb swelling after trauma and therefore decrease the time to surgery [ 17 ]. Though they investigated solely the application of negative pressure without having a control group, in context with findings from our study a significant impact of negative pressure treatment on limb swelling can be postulated.…”

Comparison of manual lymphatic drainage massage and negative pressure massage therapy efficacy in lymphedema patients: a randomized controlled study

“…In their results, they found that both methods led to a similar reduction in extremity circumference measurements, but the reduction in subjective pain sensation was more pronounced in the group receiving negative pressure therapy [48]. Similarly, Saul et al [25] found negative pressure therapy effective in reducing upper extremity swelling after surgery.…”

“…Options outside of these methods, which are part of the Complex Decongestive Therapy group, include pneumatic compression, medical treatment, electrotherapy, and surgery [21,23]. Negative pressure massage therapy (NPMT) has started to be included in lymphedema treatment and its effectiveness has been investigated in recent years [24,25]. There are few studies in the literature that investigate the effectiveness of NPMT compared to manual massage therapy in lymphedema patients.…”

Treatment of Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema Using Negative Pressure Massage: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Our results are consistent with the only published peerreviewed prospective study that used an NPMT device to treat postoperative edema after orthopedic upper limb surgery. 26 That study reported no adverse effects and demonstrated a decrease in edema for 3 days after surgery. Based on our findings, NPMT has excellent potential as a conservative treatment for chronic breast cancer−related LE.…”

“…In a prospective study that used a negative pressure device to reduce swelling after orthopedic upper limb surgery, 26 a decrease in arm circumference was found for 3 days after treatment. Evidence for the use of NPMT to treat LE is limited to conference abstracts and non−peer-reviewed manufacturer-initiated studies.…”