Does a Regime of Manual Lymphatic Drainage Reduce the Incidence of Breast Cancer-related Lymphoedema Following Axillary Node Clearance: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Eligible patients were those in whom a primary operable breast cancer is diagnosed and in whom surgery is planned to include ALND. Patients with recurrent carcinoma, previous axillary surgery/radiotherapy or any previous arm/axillary pathology leading to arm volume changes will be excluded. Eligible participants will be identified at the breast multidisciplinary meeting and will be informed of the study and given a written information sheet. Patients who choose to participate will be asked to fill in a written consent form. Patients allocated to the decongestive lymphatic therapy group will undergo intervention for a total period of 3 months. This will consist of 2 visits to a qualified practitioner in Dr Vodder manual lymphatic drainage therapist, one at the start of the 3-month period and again 6 weeks later. Patients in both groups will also be instructed to perform self-MLD on a daily basis and will be taught a series of exercises to be performed on a daily basis. Compression hosiery will be fitted to be worn during the exercises.