Lymphedema is a common complication following oncologic surgeries and is classically described to occur months to a few years after these procedures. A 64 year-old woman with history of total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy developed right-sided lower extremity lymphedema 7 years after the surgeries. Lymphographic imaging performed approximately twenty years after the original surgeries revealed development of subclinical, asymptomatic lymphedema on the contralateral lower extremity. This delayed presentation of lymphedema after initial injury, is the first described case of subclinical lymphedema without detectable lymphatic injury, making it important to continuously monitor patients at risk for lymphedema long-term.
Keywords: Gynecologic cancer; Hysterectomy; Indocyanine green lymphography; Lower extremity lymphedema; Salpingo-oophorectomy; Subclinical lymphedema.
Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.