Bariatric surgery and the evaluation of subclinical systemic lymphedema

Abstract

The aim of the study was to report an improvement in clinical lymphedema in a patient who went from morbid obesity to overweight following bariatric surgery. A 52-year-old female patient reported having undergone bariatric surgery with a body mass index (BMI) of 51.2 kg/m², losing 40 kg and arriving at her current BMI of 37.1 kg/m². She would previously awake with bilateral edema that involved her feet and worsened throughout the day, corresponding to clinical stage II lymphedema, and currently no longer had this problem. Eight years after the surgery and weight loss, the patient was submitted to electrical bioimpedance analysis, which revealed an increase in total intracellular and extracellular fluids in the limbs and trunk. Active exercise and further weight loss were recommended. This study paves a path for a new line of investigation in the treatment of obesity and changes in the lymphatic system caused by obesity.