Australian Rotary Health PhD scholar, Jane Phillips hopes to help in the treatment of primary lymphoedema based on a recent study on compression treatment.

Primary lymphoedema is a genetic condition causing chronic swelling in the arms and legs that requires daily compression to control fluid build-up. For people suffering from primary lymphoedema, fluid can gather in the skin with little technology available to assess the effectiveness of compression treatments on the skin.

The study aimed to compare fluid in the skin and deeper tissues in non-lymphoedema and primary lymphoedema patients before and after application of compression.

For those experiencing primary lymphoedema, the findings showed  a decrease in fluid  in the deeper tissues, but not in the skin. Additionally, non-lymphoedema participants showed little change in fluid.

“We are beginning to understand more about primary lymphoedema, particularly about fluid accumulated in the skin,” said Dr Phillips. “Following these results, I hope that clinicians and researchers will be challenged to investigate innovative treatments to address accumulation of fluid in the skin, to improve outcomes for those with primary lymphoedema.”

The study was co-funded by Australian Rotary Health and the Rotary Club of Dural Scholarship. To read Dr Phillips’s findings, click here and here.

Media contact: [email protected]       First published 2nd May2023