Table 3.
Time Course of Lymphedema* in First 3 Years of Study Among 433 Respondents With 3 Full Years of Follow-Up
| Lymphedema | Respondents
|
Month of First Lymphedema
|
No. of Person-Months With Lymphedema Present
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | Mean | Median | Range | Mean | Median | Range | |
| No lymphedema | 283 | 65.4 | ||||||
| Any lymphedema | 150 | 34.6 | 8.5 | 5 | 0-33 | 17.4 | 15.5 | 2-36 |
| Acute mild† | 24 | 5.5 | 13.4 | 13.5 | 2-33 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2-5 |
| Chronic mild† | 20 | 4.6 | 16.5 | 18 | 0-30 | 19.5 | 18 | 6-36 |
| Improving: mild → none† | 30 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 0-21 | 12.6 | 11 | 6-27 |
| Wax/wane: mild ⇆ none† | 26 | 6.0 | 4.7 | 4 | 0-15 | 19.0 | 18.5 | 5-30 |
| Acute moderate/severe | 2 | 0.5 | 18 | 18 | 4-32 | 4 | 4 | 4-4 |
| Chronic moderate/severe | 10 | 2.3 | 9.1 | 7 | 1-25 | 26.9 | 29 | 11-35 |
| Improving: moderate/severe → mild/none | 4 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 0-6 | 24.5 | 26 | 10-36 |
| Progressing: mild → moderate/severe | 10 | 2.3 | 9.4 | 6.5 | 0-27 | 26.5 | 29.5 | 8-36 |
| Wax/wane: moderate/severe ⇆ mild/none (regardless of initial degree) | 24 | 5.5 | 3.3 | 2 | 0-22 | 26.1 | 27 | 14-35 |
*
Any lymphedema was defined as a degree score greater than 0 and the limb on the side of surgery was larger. Mild lymphedema was defined as a degree score of 1 to 3. Moderate/severe lymphedema was defined as a degree score of 4 to 9.
†
Lymphedema did not progress beyond mild.