Lymphoedema: Guide for diagnosis and management in General Practice

Lymphoedema remains an often underdiagnosed and misunderstood condition within primary health care, yet early diagnosis and intervention are critical for effective management.

In June 2023, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released a report: Towards an estimate of the prevalence of lymphoedema in Australia. One of the biggest issues acknowledged by this report, is the “critical issue of the misdiagnosis, or missing diagnosis of the condition due to a lack of understanding and awareness of its presentation among medical practitioners. This leads to an under-diagnosis of the condition. Appropriate training and the provision of resources will help to facilitate early detection of the condition and improve outcomes for people living with lymphoedema.”

The Lymphoedema Association Australia (LAA) could not agree more with this comment in the report! We hear this from our members regularly, and it was validating to see this identified as a critical factor in improving the outcomes for people living with lymphoedema.

That is why the LAA is proud to announce the launch of the 2024 edition of Lymphoedema: A guide for diagnosis and management in general practice. This 4-page document is designed to be emailed / downloaded / printed and is ideal for people with lymphoedema to share with their own GP. It explains about lymphoedema, signs and symptoms, risk factors, investigations, management, links to websites of where to find practitioners and how to access subsidy schemes, as well as a handy flow chart to assist with diagnosis.

This resource has been developed by the Lymphoedema Association Australia with assistance of representatives from HealthPathways Melbourne and the Australasian Lymphology Association. The original edition of this document was released by the Lymphoedema Association of Victoria (LAV) in 2006. The Lymphoedema Association of Queensland (LAQ) adapted it for QLD in 2011 and HealthPathways Melbourne revised the version for Victoria in 2018. The Lymphoedema Association Australia determined that it was vital to make this document relevant Australia wide, and thus the document has undergone rigorous review and updating with links to nationally relevant resources.

This most recent version, approved for release in June 2024, has been accepted by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) as an Accepted Clinical Resource, and has been made available to GPs Australia wide. You will note that the RACGP logo (recognisable to GPs everywhere) appears on the top right of the first page of the document.

Please follow the links to download this resource. We encourage you to share it with your GP, Specialists and Lymphoedema Practitioner. Together, we can spread the word far and wide and ensure that future generations of people living with lymphoedema, can get access to faster diagnosis and treatment because of this work. You can now order brochures via our online shop by clicking here. As we are a small charity, we charge the cost of postage only.

The LAA would like to thank the working party involved in updating this document: Dr Yvonne Zwar, Dr Helen Mackie, Dr Debbie Geyer, Helen Eason, Hildegard Reul-Hirche, Kate Dahl, Jane Phillips, Janet Milne, Madeleine Stockden, Ellen Gulin and Maree O'Connor.

Acknowledgement is made of the work originally contributed to from the working parties of past organisations including: Lymphoedema Association of Victoria, National Breast Cancer Centre, Cancer Australia, Lymphoedema Practitioners’ Education Group of Victoria, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Australian Practice Nurses Association, and General Practice Divisions - Victoria.