This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The most common cause of lymphoedema in the UK is malignancy or its treatment. The most common cause world-wide is filiariasis (affects around 90 million people) (2).

Primary causes include:

  • truly congenital conditions such as Milroy's disease, which may be precipitated by trauma, pregnancy, and infection
  • developmental abnormalities such as Turner's syndrome

Secondary causes:

  • recurrent lymphangitis - from erysipelas, chronic venous ulceration
  • lymphatic obstruction - from tumour, tuberculosis, filariasis
  • lymphatic destruction - from tumour, surgery, radiotherapy
  • lymphatic removal - from surgery e.g. radical mastectomy
  • others - in association with conditions such as yellow nail syndrome, rosacea

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page