Combination of manual lymphatic drainage and Kinesio taping for treating pigmented villonodular synovitis:A case report

BACKGROUND Pigmented villonodular synovitis(PVNS)is a benign proliferative disorder that affects the synovial joints,bursae,and tendon sheaths.To date,few studies have reported on the treatment of postoperative pain and edema in patients with PVNS.Herein,we present the case of a woman who developed pain and edema in the left lower limb 1 wk after synovectomy and arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and was unable to walk due to limited flexion and extension of the left knee.CASE SUMMARY A 32-year-old woman underwent synovectomy and arthroscopic partial meniscectomy successively and was treated with a combination of manual lymphatic drainage(MLD)and kinesio taping(KT)in our hospital to alleviate postoperative pain and edema.The following parameters were assessed at 2 wk post-treatment and 1 wk post-discharge follow up:suprapatellar circumference,infrapatellar circumference,visual analog scale score,knee range of motion,pittsburgh sleep quality index score,hamilton anxiety rating scale(HAMA)score,and hamilton depression rating scale(HAMD)score.After treatment,the postoperative pain and edema in the patient’s left knee were effectively relieved,resulting in improved sleep quality and remarkably attenuated HAMA and HAMD scores.CONCLUSION Combined MLD and KT may be an effective approach for relieving postoperative pain and edema in patients with PVNS.

Efficacy of Manual Lymphatic Drainage for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

Purpose: The effect of manual lymphatic drainage in patients with breast cancer is controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) in breast cancer-related lymphedema treatment. Methods: The electronic databases of EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library were searched to find English articles on MLD which were published before January 2020. After two evaluators selected the studies and independently evaluated literature quality, meta-analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.3 software. The outcome index of lymphedema treatment changed in edema volume. Results: The study included six RCTs of 364 patients and the meta-analysis showed no significant difference in the effect of MLD for BCRL compared with other treatments (mean difference, 3.76;95% confidence interval, -35.09 to 42.62;Z, 0.19;p = 0.850). Conclusion: MLD can relieve the body tissue, rapidly improve local condition, and enhance complete decongestive therapy (CDT) efficacy. MLD can prevent BCRL and improve the symptoms of stage I lymphedema. It should be widely applied to prevent BCRL from entering an irreversible state.