Care And Cure Wellness

This is tissue swelling caused by a defect of the lymphatic system which is a part of the immune and circulatory system. Lymphoedema can arise from primary or secondary causes.

Primary causes are congenital in origin that can manifest at different stages of life. That is, at birth, teenage or later in life commonly middle age. Do you have other family members that have similar presentations as you?

The other causes can be Secondary due to trauma; injury; surgery including removal of lymph node(s) in cancer, hip/knee replacement; vascular procedures e.g. vein stripping; radiotherapy, infection, being wheel-chair bound or simply being severely overweight.

There are other conditions that may appear to Lymphoedema, too. Once you have received medical assessment and clearance by your doctor, Suji can help you work out what the possible cause is and how to address the condition.

For a person who has been treated for cancer where the lymph nodes have been sampled, removed or irradiated, there may be swelling in the closest limb and the quadrant of the trunk which adjoins the surgery. More specifically, if the groin or abdominal lymph nodes have been affected, the leg on that side, the lower abdomen, buttock and genitals may be swollen. If the armpit lymph nodes are affected, then the arm, chest and upper back on that side may be swollen.

The swelling normally starts at the top of the limb or on the trunk and may be very variable at first, increasing with activity or during the day and disappearing overnight. As time progresses, the swell tends to spread lower on the limb and remains longer. Also, the nature of the swelling will change from pitting oedema (depression left by finger when swelling is pressed) to a more fibrotic (more wooden) oedema.

For arm lymphoedema, often the first complaint is of being unable to put the arm close by the side. Many women feel as though there is a ball of swelling at the back of the armpit. Otherwise, it is often noticed if jewellery becomes tight, or the tendons on the back of the hand become obscured by swelling.

Leg lymphoedema is often picked up when underwear or trousers become tight on one leg, or there is a greater dent from socks or stockings.

Lymphoedema is NEVER the cause of sharp, severe pain unless the swelling results in compression of nerves. Many people complain of aching, heaviness, tightness or a bruised feeling in the swollen area.

We understand unexplained ongoing swelling in the leg(s) or any part of the body can be distressing. Many things can cause swelling e.g. a clot, medication. Did your doctor give you a diagnosis of lymphoedema? Otherwise, we recommend that you seek a thorough medical check-up and clearance prior to making an appointment with us. This is because it is important to determine the cause of your swelling as treatment will differ. Our clinician will assess and examine you at the first appointment.

Chronic swelling that is not a result of lymph node damage can also be lymphoedema. Lymphoedema is simply oedema (fluid retention) which results from an impairment of the lymphatic system. There are various genetic (inherited) conditions which result in poor development of the lymphatic system, these may become apparent at birth, at puberty, or later in life when we start slowing down or sustain an injury. The oedema can range from a swollen ankle following a plane flight which persists for a couple of hours once you become active again, to grossly swollen limbs which limit movement and hygiene, and make buying clothing and footwear extremely difficult.

Chronic swelling which is caused by heart disease, liver disease, or kidney disease is not lymphoedema, and should be managed by your medical specialist.

When a part of the body is injured, there will be a certain amount of leakage of blood from broken capillaries, as well as an infiltration of repair materials to mend the rift. This is seen as bruising and swelling. When this occurs, the lymphatic system will then increase the rate of drainage to clear out the leaked blood and damaged tissue. Once this has gone the swelling will subside. If the lymphatic system is damaged in the injury, or there is excessive damaged tissue, some of the waste may congeal before the lymphatic system can remove it. In this case there may be persistent swelling.

Heart failure, kidney failure, varicose veins and arthritis are also associated with swelling. These occur for various reasons, but it is still the lymphatic system which is usually responsible for returning the fluid from the swelling back into the circulation.

No! Occasionally patients are angry that healthy lymph nodes have been removed or destroyed when that person has ended up with lymphoedema. Unfortunately, lymph node sampling is the least invasive, early way to determine if there is a likelihood of the tumour already having spread. If the lymph nodes are simply left when they do have tumour cells present, the resulting tumour growth will definitely result in a lymphoedema which is very hard to control. Surgical methods are improving for minimising the lymph node damage, such as a sentinel node biopsy prior to clearance of lymph nodes. If the sentinel lymph node is clear of tumour cells at the time of surgery, then there is a good chance that the rest of the lymph nodes will also be clear. In this case the surgeon may elect not to complete the lymph node clearance.

No. All private health insurance or no private health insurance patients, can simply book in online with us.

We are able to determine whether you require further medical care after thorough assessments.

Exception:

However, if you seek to use the Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan, then you are required to obtain a GP referral.