Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37114928›Full record

ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery2024

Liposuction for Advanced Lymphedema in a Multidisciplinary Team Setting in Australia: 5-Year Follow-Up.

Tobias Karlsson, Helen Mackie, Louise Koelmeyer, Asha Heydon-White, Robyn Ricketts, Kim Toyer, John Boyages, Håkan Brorson, Thomas Lam

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The MD Anderson Algorithm for Lymphedema Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025
    Review
  5. Outcome of Liposuction for Limb Lymphedema in Men Compared with Women.Journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Tobias KarlssonFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Helen MackieFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Louise KoelmeyerFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Asha Heydon-WhiteFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Robyn RickettsFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Kim ToyerFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
John BoyagesFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Håkan BrorsonDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Thomas LamFrom the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Program, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University.
Macquarie University · AUGovernment of Western Australia Department of Health · AULund University · SESkåne University Hospital · SEThe Mount · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLiposuction for International Society of Lymphology late stage 2 or 3 limb lymphedema is an established surgical option to remove excessive adipose tissue deposition and has been performed in Australia since 2012 at the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research, and Treatment (ALERT) Program of Macquarie University.

methodsBetween May of 2012 and May of 2017, 72 patients with unilateral primary or secondary lymphedema of the arm or leg underwent suction-assisted lipectomy using the Brorson protocol. This prospective study presents 59 of these patients who had consented to research with a 5-year follow-up.

resultsOf the 59 patients, 54 (92%) were women, 30 (51%) had leg lymphedema, and 29 (49%) had arm lymphedema. For patients with arm lymphedema, the median preoperative volume difference between the lymphedematous and the contralateral arm was 1061 mL, which was reduced to 79 mL 1 year after surgery and to 22 mL 5 years after surgery. For patients with leg lymphedema, the median preoperative volume difference was 3447 mL, which was reduced to 263 mL 1 year after surgery but increased to 669 mL 5 years after surgery.

conclusionSuction-assisted lipectomy is a long-term option for the management of selected patients with International Society of Lymphology late stage 2 or 3 limb lymphedema when conservative management can offer no further improvement. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

Indexed as

LipectomyLymphedemaAustraliaFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMalePatient Care TeamProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID37114928
PMCPMC10802981
OpenAlexW4367312934

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.