Multilymphosome injection indocyanine green lymphography can detect more lymphatic vessels than lymphoscintigraphy in lymphedematous limbs.

BACKGROUND: Sometimes, injecting indocyanine green (ICG) or isotope at distal limbs is insufficient especially in cases with low lymphatic function. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the usefulness of multi-lymphosome injection ICG lymphography.

METHODS: Two hundred and six lower limbs of 103 patients were included. ICG lymphography was performed by injecting ICG in three lymphosomes per limb: dorsum of foot (saphenous lymphatics), the proximal side of the lateral condyle (lateral calf lymphatics), and the lateral side of the superior edge of the knee (lateral thigh lymphatics). We observed the presence or absence of a linear pattern at each injection site with a near-infrared camera. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed by injecting an isotope in the first web space, conventionally. Whole body scintigrams were taken 60 min after injection.

RESULTS: In multi-lymphosome ICG lymphography, the lateral thigh lymphatics were observed as a linear pattern in 75.2% of patients, the lateral calf lymphatics in 72.8%, and the saphenous lymphatics in 84.5% of patients. There was not a significant difference between secondary and primary lymphedema (p = 0.57, 0.77, and 0.56 in the lateral thigh, the lateral calf, and the saphenous lymphatics, respectively). Among the 12 limbs classified as Type 5, at least one linear pattern was found in 10 limbs (83.3%).

CONCLUSIONS: We observed a linear pattern in 83.3% of the limbs that were lymphoscintigraphic Type 5 by using multi-lymphosome ICG lymphography. There is a possibility that the results of this study can increase the number of patients eligible for lymphatico-venous anastomosis (LVA) and increase the success rate of LVA.