Lymphedema after saphenous harvesting for coronary artery bypass surgery: case report and literature review

• Published in: BMC cardiovascular disorders Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 41 - 6
• Main Authors: Mirhosseini, Seyed Mohsen, Soltanipur, Masood, Yarmohammadi, Hossein, Rezaei, Mahdi, Sheikhi, Zahra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 12-01-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aged; Cardiac patients; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Case reports; Cellulitis; Chronic illnesses; Complications and side effects; Coronary artery; Coronary artery bypass; Coronary Artery Bypass - adverse effects; Coronary vessels; Diagnosis; Edema; Health aspects; Heart surgery; Humans; Literature reviews; Lymphedema; Lymphedema - diagnostic imaging; Lymphedema - etiology; Male; Medical examination; Pain; Patients; Quality of Life; Risk factors; Saphenous harvesting; Saphenous vein; Saphenous Vein - diagnostic imaging; Saphenous Vein - surgery; Surgery; Tissue and Organ Harvesting - adverse effects; Trauma; Iran; Coronary artery bypass; Lymphedema; Saphenous harvesting; Quality of life
• ISSN: 1471-2261; 1471-2261
• DOI: 10.1186/s12872-024-03712-6

Different causes have been described for secondary lymphedema as reported in this article. A 75-year-old man was diagnosed with lymphedema about one decade after saphenous harvesting for coronary artery bypass surgery. It took two years for him to find out his diagnosis and receive the proper treatment. After standard complete decongestive therapy, his volume and pain decreased and his quality of life was improved, especially its physical aspect. It is important to recognize the possibility of lymphedema development after saphenous harvesting among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery to prevent significant disturbance of quality of life with timely management.