LNT surgery info & how to feel more confident with my condition
Hi! I was diagnosed with “severe late stage lymphedema” ln my right hand and wrist after over a year of dealing with chronic swelling that got progressively worse. It’s now been two years since the swelling randomly started, still not sure what the cause was. I don’t have any history of lymphedema in the family and there was no injury that caused the swelling to start. I now go to physical therapy often and have custom compression garments + pump. The doc I was seeing tried a lymph angiogram and determined there were no In tact lymphatic veins to do the vein bypass surgery. My only hope for things to get better is a lymph node transfer surgery which I haven’t been able to find much info or success stories and know it can put other extremities at risk.
I have a consultation with the surgeon for LNT surgery in July. She was really hard to get an appointment with because she only works with recovering cancer patients. Because there was no injuries or family history, it’s been incredibly hard to get answers or treatment. I have a physically laborious job and it makes the swelling much worse and causes pain if I don’t wear my compression glove all day. My garments are so uncomfortable and still don’t help much with the swelling. I can’t imagine having to do this for the rest of my life. I’m only in my twenties. I really hope this surgery can be something that I’m a candidate for and improves the quality of my life, does anyone have any more information or experiences with the LNT surgery?
Also I’m having a hard time with my self esteem because of my hand. I have been made fun of quite a bit for it, whether it’s the fact that it’s swollen and looks deformed or because my compression garment looks stupid. A lot of people point it out and ask me questions about it. I have been dating someone new and have been trying my best to hide the swelling but it’s pretty exhausting. I feel like it could be a big deal breaker for people, but idk how to feel more secure with the condition. My hands are pretty small so the swelling looks so weird. I’d really appreciate any help or advice.