'Microsurgery' to ease swollen limb condition that could transform patients' lives is being denied by the NHS, charity claims Few people are able to access £15,000 procedure for lymphoedema on the NHS By Andy Beaven Published: 01:39, 14 July 2024 | Updated: 01:42, 14 July 2024 e-mail View comments People with a swollen limb condition are being denied a revolutionary operation by the NHS that could transform their lives, a charity has claimed. The condition, lymphoedema, causes a build-up of fluid in the body's infection-fighting lymphatic channels that leaves sufferers with heavy and painful arms and legs. The operation requires intricate microsurgery, using high-powered microscopes, to connect the damaged lymphatic system to veins, to drain the excess fluid.
Nearly nine in ten sufferers who undergo the treatment, called lymphaticovenular anastomosis - or LVA - see their swelling permanently disappear. However, while lymphoedema affects about 300,000 Britons – the most common cause is cancer treatment – few are able to access the £15,000 procedure on the NHS. 'Lymphoedema is very under-resourced,' says Karen Friett, chief executive of the Lymphoedema Support Network charity.
'More investment is needed to allow people to live well with the condition – and the option to offer LVA as part of a suite of care for those it is suitable for would be welcome.' Few of the 300,000 Britons who suffer from lymphoedema are able to access the £15,000 'microsurgery' procedure on the.