Experts have been spruiking the growing success of using liposuction on lymphoedema.

Data collated by medical staff at Macquarie University Hospital has shown that a liposuction surgery performed on eligible lymphoedema patients has a success rate of nearly 100 per cent.

In one case, surgeons relieved a patient of nearly eight litres of excess fluids in her right leg.

Lymphoedema is an abnormal collection of fluid beneath the skin, causing swelling most commonly in the arm or leg. Lymphoedema can be triggered after the removal of lymph nodes, meaning breast or cervical cancer patients can be at risk of the condition.

The surgical technique, which is used in conjunction with the traditional treatments of compression bandaging and massage, involves the use of liposuction to remove the excess fatty fluids, returning the arm or leg to its former appearance and functionality.

Before any treatment, lymphoedema patients are limited in their abilities to do simple things like walking, driving, and even wearing trousers, shoes, or jackets, due to their heavy, oversized limbs.

Many also suffer the psychological trauma of not being able to return to regular life after already enduring cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Currently Macquarie University Hospital (MUH) is the only facility in the Southern Hemisphere to offer liposuction for eligible lymphoedema patients, and 25 per cent of the clinic’s patients have had to travel from outside New South Wales for treatment.

Louise Koelmeyer, Development Manager of the MUH program, says the practice should be more widespread.

“Our team are now leaders in this practice in their own right, having successfully launched our program and building our own expertise,” she said.

“We are now sharing our expertise with a team of clinician contacts based in New Zealand.”

The MUH team is putting on a series of seminars to spread their vital knowledge.