Efficacy of Manual lymphatic drainage on lymphedema in breast cancer

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among females worldwide. It has been reported that each year over 1.15 million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer. In Iran, 23 percent of all cancers in women is breast cancer. One of the most important sequel of the treatment of breast cancer is the development of lymphedema. Estimates of the incidence of lymphedema vary from 25% to 38% in these patients. Although such lymphedema cannot be cured, there are several available methods of treatment Method: In this review, literature from the year 2000 to the present were searched in the internal and external databases. According to relevant criteria of 60 articles, 20 articles were selected. Discussion: Lymphedema is defined as a swelling of the arm caused by insufficient lymph drainage. Among methods of treatment, manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) technique is used to activate lymphatic vessels and move stagnant lymph from edematous to non-edematous areas.Conclusion: Lymphedema management is an important task for nurses. The primary outcome for management of lymphedema is a reduction in edema volume. The current evidence does not support the use of MLD in preventing or treating lymphedema clearly. Thus, these results support the need for these studies to be replicated with a larger sample group

کلیدواژه ها:

Manual lymphatic Drainage ، lymphedema ، Breast Cancer