Lymphoedema is unsightly, it compromises function and it is associated with pain and psychological distress. Thirty percent of women who had an axillary dissection performed as part of the treatment for breast cancer will develop lymphoedema, and the incidence is higher in those who also received radiation to the axilla. So we are dealing with a common and distressing clinical condition but one that has, regrettably, received little attention.

Here for the first time is a clearly written, multiprofessional, scientifically based review of all aspects of the nature and treatment of lymphoedema. The editors describe it as an overview, but it contains a wealth of detail. There are chapters on pathophysiology, clinical features, and each aspect of management. The text is enhanced by a number of quality photographs.

This book will be an invaluable resource to health care professionals who come in contact with patients with lymphoedema, and is a must for anyone who works in a lymphoedema clinic.

Director of Palliative Care, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia
(Nov 2002)

Author Information

Robert Twycross is Macmillan Clinical Reader in Palliative Medicine, Oxford University and Consultant Physician, Sir Michael Sobell House, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK

Karen Jenns is Clinical Nurse Specialist, Lymphoedema Service, Sir Michael Sobell House, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK

Jacquelyne Todd is Lymphoedema Specialist, Ardenlea Marie Curie Centre, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, UK

Table of Contents

1. The patient’s perspective

1 Squire

2. How does tissue swelling occur? The physiology and pathophysiology of interstitial fluid

formation

11 Stanton