Fundamentals for Supermicrosurgical Lymphaticovenular Anastomosis: Part 1 Comprehensive Review of Anastomosis Techniques and Proposal for a Flowchart Algorithm.

Abstract

Supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis represents an established procedure for lymphedema treatment, the effectiveness of which has been well documented in international literature. Nevertheless, currently, no standards for supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis have been established regarding the type, location, and number of anastomoses so that the approach to surgical scenarios still depends on the surgeons' preference and ability. A comprehensive literature search for articles involving supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis techniques was performed on the PubMed/Medline/SCOPUS databases. Results, including the names of the technique and their characteristics, such as indications, surgical time, and configuration of the vessels, are reported. Each technique included was then performed five times, and for each of them, patency was tested intraoperatively and 30 days after surgery. Moreover, an efficacy score was assigned, taking into consideration the number of lymphatic vessels anastomosed, the average time for anastomosis, and the difficulty of each technique. A total of 148 articles resulted from the literature search. In total, 16 papers met the criteria for inclusion as defined in the methods and were included in the review as a "supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis technique." Efficacy scores ranged from 0.21 to 1, intraoperative patency ranged from 80% to 100%, and the 30-days patency test ranged from 60% to 100%. To perform effective anastomoses and aim to maximize the results of supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis, a modern microsurgeon should be trained to recognize and manage the most common vessel configurations, performing the most adequate one of the several techniques described. Further studies are required to validate and compare the use of the supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenular anastomosis techniques reviewed.