Scar lymphedema: fact or fiction?

Abstract

Few concepts are as fundamental to plastic surgery as scarring, yet swelling within a scar and its adjacent tissues is a common observation which is not well understood. Mechanical forces, scar contracture, fibrosis, and lymph stasis have been considered as possible explanations for these edematous-appearing areas, but conclusive evidence of a cause of swelling has not been established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible role of microlymphatic stasis or disruption as a causal factor.