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 patientswithlymphedemaofdifferentcausesontheextremityvolume, qualityoflife (QoL), andfunctionality. 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.