amazing. He noted, “At present, there really isn’t a great treatment option for lymphedema. In fact, we’re really in the management phase of lymphedema and if that doesn’t go well then the lymphedema will cause permanent changes in the involved limb.”
Lymphedema can arise following the removal of lymph nodes, and in Canada, it is most commonly induced by therapy for breast, melanoma, head and neck cancers, sarcoma, or direct physical damage to lymphatic channels. Swelling, discomfort, skin thickening or scarring, recurrent infections, and limited range of motion are all signs of this chronic disease.
The new microscope and Spy Phi camera system were made possible by a $1.5 million donation from the Surrey Hospitals Foundation in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The vascularized lymph node transfer operation, which is only performed in a few medical centers across the world, will be done by Ratanshi and Dr. Jennifer Prince.
According to Ratanshi, the new treatment will help prevent or significantly minimize the risk of local people acquiring lymphedema. He said, “There’s an ongoing large number of patients who are uniquely high-risk for developing lymphedema that we want to be able to treat. You have to start somewhere and this is that first foot forward in being able to offer a new level of reconstruction along the cancer care continuum for breast cancer patients.”
