Bioimpedance assessment of edema in patients with mastectomy-related lymphedema treated by mechanical lymph drainage using the RAGodoy® device

Authors: Daniel Libanore, Ediv

Abstract

Few apparatuses have been developed for the treatment of arm lymphedema. The objective of this study was to use bioimpedance to evaluate the efficiency of the RAGodoy® mechanical drainage device in reducing swelling in the treatment of mastectomy-related arm lymphedema. Twenty-one patients with arm lymphedema after mastectomy were enrolled in a prospective study (clinical trial) to quantitatively evaluate reductions in limb size using a passive electromechanical device to perform mechanical lymph drainage. The study was conducted in the Vascular Laser Center in Sao Jose do Rio Preto. The InBody S10® body composition analyzer was used to evaluate edema. The paired t-test was used for statistical analysis with significance being set for an alpha error = 5% (p-value < 0.05). The results showed that a significant reduction in edema was observed after mechanical lymph drainage using the RAGodoy® device (p-value < 0.012). In conclusion, lymph drainage performed with the electromechanical RAGodoy® device is effective in reducing volume of arm lymphedema as assessed by bioimpedance.