Intermittent negative pressure therapy in the combined treatment of peripheral lymphedema

Intermittent negative pressure deviceswere initially developed by NASA to enhanceblood perfusion and combat a reduction inorthostatic tolerance. Investigational studieshave demonstrated that the pressure differentialproduces changes in the blood and cardiacsystems and also documented changes inweight and cellulite in obese patients. Althoughthe mechanisms are not known, previousinvestigation has also reported changes inlymphedematous limbs. These initial resultssuggested to us that the inclusion of intermittentnegative pressure into a lymphedematreatment protocol would be beneficial. Wesubsequently undertook a study of 50 patientswith lymphedema adding intermittent negativepressure to our CLyFT protocol and comparedthem to the CLyFT protocol withoutintermittent negative pressure. We found asignificant difference between the groups withan additional 7% reduction in lymphedemavolume (p=0.008). Our study results indicatethat the inclusion of intermittent negativepressure therapy into the CLyFT protocolwas beneficial and further incorporation intoother protocols should be investigated.