Hereditary congenital lymphedema-Milroy's: A report of 30 cases in a family

Abstract

Hereditary congenital lymphedema is a rare disorder. A family with 30 occurrences of this condition in three generations consisting of 58 persons is described. This case is unusual in that all 11 children of clinically normal parents are affected. The etiology of hereditary congenital lymphedema is a hypoplasia or aplasia of lymphatic tissue. Mechanical pumping and adequate pressure gradient prostheses have been a successful treatment. The authors reviewed the world literature and cited the explanations that were offered for lymphedema. Various treatments used in the past and present are included.