Abstract
In the Czech Republic, the care of patients with lymphedema has gone through a noticeable change in the past 20 years. Both its accessibility and its quality are now above the average of levels common in the EU.
Conservative treatment, as one of the standards of care set by the Czech Society of Lymphology of the Czech Medical Association of J. E.
Pyrkyně, meets the standards required in Europe and the USA. Surgery for lymphedema, introduced in the 1970’s, has markedly developed during the last 10 years and, at present, includes resection and liposuction procedures and reconstruction techniques using lymphovenous anastomosis.
The paper deals with the surgical methods available for the treatment of lymphedema and its complications, describes indication criteria for the use of these methods, and outlines early and long-term postoperative care. The methods used at the Department of Surgery of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital in Motol, Charles University in Prague, and a brief evaluation of their results are presented.