The effects of bandaging with an additional pad and taping on secondary arm lymphedema in a patient after mastectomy.
Junghwa Do, JaeYong Jeon, Won Kim
PMID 28744063WHAT IT FOUND
In one patient after mastectomy, 10 sessions of manual lymphatic drainage, a pad, bandaging, taping and exercise were followed by reported reductions in arm volume and better function and quality-of-life scores.
No component can be credited alone.
Key findings
01After 10 sessions, excess arm volume decreased by 608 ml, PEV changed from 47.1% to 9.6%, and PREV was -79.5%.
02Her EORTC QLQ-C30 quality-of-life score improved from 50 to 100, and her DASH score improved from 47.5 to 15.
03The patient received manual lymphatic drainage, a short-stretch pad, bandaging, Kinesio tape, exercises and skin care as one treatment package.
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What it does not show
Only one patient was treated, so this cannot show that the pad or tape works. The patient received manual lymphatic drainage, a pad, bandaging, taping, exercises and skin care together, so the contribution of any one component cannot be separated. Outcomes were measured only before and after 2 weeks, so there is no long-term follow-up. The authors' statement that the pad was the strongest contributor is their interpretation, not a tested result.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest declaration is given in the text. Ethics approval was obtained from Asan Medical Center.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the additional pad or Kinesio tape alone caused the improvement. The patient received manual lymphatic drainage, a pad, bandaging, taping, exercises and skin care together, and the paper reports a single case without a comparison group.