Ganges Hospital raises awareness about lymphedema | Top Vip News

Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore on Monday inaugurated an exhibition to create awareness about lymphedema, a type of swelling that usually affects arms and legs due to blockages in the lymphatic system.

Kanagavalli Shanmuganathan, Director General of Ganga Hospital, inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of S. Maruthu Thurai, State Program Director of Tamil Nadu Emergency and Accident Care Initiative, National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu, as part of the Lymphedema Awareness March 4-10.

Dr Thurai said the state government had been giving a special push to tackle non-communicable diseases and creating awareness on conditions like lymphedema was the need of the hour.

Raja Sabapathy, director of the Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery at Ganges Hospital, said lymphedema was mainly diagnosed in people who had undergone radiotherapy treatment for cancer.

“The lymphatic system is basically the body’s immune system that circulates lymphatic fluid that arises from blood vessels containing proteins and white blood cells. During radiotherapy, lymphatic channels become fibrous and blocked, subsequently causing swelling,” he said.

The condition can also occur due to filariasis (disease arising due to mosquito bite), trauma and sometimes due to congenital problems where there are very less number of lymphatic channels. As the swelling of the extremities progresses, patients find it difficult to move their fingers and toes, and the mobility restriction prevents them from performing their normal work.

According to Dr. Raja Sabapathy, lymphedema can be controlled if patients seek treatment at the right time. The use of compression garments, physical therapy, and manual lymphatic drainage are non-surgical treatments performed in early-stage cases. Surgical intervention is performed for advanced lymphedema and this includes procedures that bypass the blocked lymphatic system.

Raja Shanmuga Krishnan, consultant plastic surgeon at Ganga Hospital, said the hospital performed surgery on 60 to 70 lymphedema patients a year. It also sees 20 to 30 people with the condition as outpatients per month.

Hari Venkatramani, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and President of the Indian Association of Plastic Surgeons, spoke about the importance of early detection and treatment of lymphedema.