Postoperative Lymphatic Leakage in Oncosurgical Patients

Purpose: to evaluate the influence of postoperative lymphatic leakage volume and duration on homokinesis and incidence of postoperative complications in oncosurgury patients underwent different operative interventions.

Material and methods. The results of treatment of 310 patients subjected to standard elective surgical intervention for a malignant pathology of different organs with regional lymph node dissection were evaluated. The selection criterion was prolonged (more than 7 days) and prominent (over 50 ml a day) lymphatic leakage during the postoperative period. The fluid discharged during the postoperative period was identified as a lymph by cytology. The diagnosis of a malignant pathology was verified in all patients after histological examination and patients were distributed according to established diagnosis.

Results. The duration of lymphatic leakage including the outpatient treatment stage varied from 9 days to 1 year and 2 months depending on the type of surgery. The longest lymphatic leakage occurred in 2 patients after radical mastectomy. During the 1st week of observation in patients with daily lymph losses up to 100 ml, no changes in the blood composition were noted. Prolonged lymphatic leakage (1–2 weeks after operation) in a volume over 100 ml a day resulted in reduced protein content in blood plasma, severe lymphocytopenia, increased platelet count. During the postoperative period, complications were detected in 31 patients; at that, during the 1st week of observation, 27 patients experienced initial lymphatic leakage over 100 ml a day. Analysis of fatal outcomes (7 patients) showed that in all patients the lymphatic leakage exceeded 150 ml a day and lasted 1 to 2 weeks. The longest inpatient time was typical for patients after Wertheim's hysterectomy and cystectomy, whereas the longest outpatient treatment was experienced by patients after radical mastectomy and inguinofemoral lymph node dissection.

Conclusion. In case of lymphatic leakage over 100 ml a day in oncosurgury patients, it was necessary to make up protein losses and after 7 days of persistent lymphatic leakage it became necessary to consider use of active surgical tactics aimed at liquidation of lymph losses.

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