Comparing complex decongestive therapy in patients with lymphedema of different causes by measuring: extremity volume, quality of life, and functionality.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of complex decongestive therapy (CDT) applied to the lower extremities of patients with lymphedema of different causes on the extremity volume, quality of life (QoL), and functionality.

Materials and method: The study included 90 patients, of whom 28 had primary lymphedema, 30 had secondary lymphedema, 18 had phlebolymphedema, and 14 had lipolymphedema. A total of 137 extremities were treated with CDT. The patients who received CDT for 5 days a week for 3 weeks (15 sessions in total) were included in the sample. Extremity volume was measured using a tape measure. The lymphedema QoL-Leg Questionnaire was used to evaluate QoL, and the lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) was administered to assess lower extremity functionality.

Results: The changes in QoL before and after treatment significantly differed in the primary lymphedema, phlebolymphedema, and lipolymphedema groups (p < 0.05). The post-treatment LEFS scores indicated a significant decrease in the phlebolymphedema and lipolymphedema groups compared to the pre-treatment scores (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The difference in appearance, which is one of the sub-parameters of QoL, significantly decreased in the comparisons performed between the groups, whereas the changes in the remaining parameters were not significant.