Historian’s Corner

Earliest known depiction of lymphedema - Queen of Punt

Hippocrates describes a disease course consistent with metastasis to lymph nodes

Frederik Ruysch is the first to visualize lymphatic valves via meticulous dissection and novel preservation techniques

Mascagni publishes “Vasorum Lymphaticorum Corporis Humani Historia et Ichnographia”, one of the earliest comprehensive anatomical descriptions of human lymphatics

Alexander von Wimiwarter introduced massage and compression for lymphedema treatment 

Handley places running silk threads subcutaneously to provide a conduit for lymphatic drainage

Sir Richard Henry Havelock Charles describes excisional surgery for advanced filarial lymphedema pertaining primarily to the scrotum

Introduction of the Kondoleon procedure which included a wide excision of the fascia with concomitant partial excision of the hypertrophic adipose tissue

Sistrunk reports on the Sistrunk procedure, a modification of the Kondoleon procedure, by which lymphedematous tissue is excised and larger window cuts in the deep fascia are created to allow for communication into deep lymphatics

Emil and Estrid Vodder refined manual lymphatic drainage

Gilles introduces the “lymphatic wick” to restore lower extremity lymphatic outflow following obstruction in the groin

Rouvière and Tobias published a compendium of human lymphatic anatomy, “Anatomy of the human lymphatic system.”

Development of the first ever surgical lymphovenous shunts in humans by Olszewski and Nielubowicz in Poland

Julius Jacobson writes about LVA

Laine and Howard publish on LVA

O’Brien et al. publish their series of microsurgical LVB in human proximal upper limbs

Baumeister introduces early physiologic reconstruction with autologous lymphatic grafts for LVA

Clodius et al. perform the first pedicled lymph node transfer for lower extremity lymphedema

Campisi et al. publish on the lymphatic-venous-lymphatic interpositioned grafted shunt

Brorson and Svensson (Sweden) publish their results of complete reduction of arm lymphedema after breast cancer using liposuction

Slavin et al. and others find that lymphatic regeneration can take place through a variety of free tissue transfers containing lymph node basins

Koshima introduces supermicrosugery and enables anastomoses between subdermal lymphatics and venules <0.08 mm in diameter

Becker et al. publish their work on microsurgical lymph node transplantation

Klimberg et al. perform Axillary Reverse Mapping (ARM) to preserve lymphatic function during oncologic surgery

Baccardo et al. develop the Lymphedema Microsurgical Preventative Healing Approach (LYMPHA)