Tag Archives: venous

There is Nothing Like a Tribute

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We are often asked the question, what patients need a Solaris Tribute for lymphedema management? The short answer is that any patient who would benefit from night time bandaging will benefit from wearing a Solaris Tribute. Which lymphedema patients require night time bandaging? According to the International Consensus Document of the International Lymphoedema Framework, Best Practice for the Management of Lymphoedema, there are two types of lymphedema patients for whom nighttime bandaging is appropriate;

1. Patients who experience “creeping refill” when wearing only daytime garments, and

2. Patients with localised tissue thickening, also known as induration or fibrosis. This is the skin that takes an impression when pressed and feels “doughy.”

We also know that if a patient has swelling related to lymphedema that fluctuates a lot, or is worse at some times more than others, they could benefit from a nighttime garment.

If the patient needs a custom compression sleeve during the day, then they would benefit from wearing a custom compression garment at night as well.

In fact, it seems clear that any lymphedema patient who wants to effectively manage their lymphedema and minimise their swelling would want to wear a custom nighttime garment to increase the effectiveness of their management techniques. Patients are careful to take good care of themselves during the day by wearing their daytime compression garment, doing their exercises, receiving treatments as needed  and otherwise caring for their swelling. Wouldn’t they also want to manage their lymphedema while they sleep?

What are the benefits of wearing a Solaris Tribute custom therapeutic garment while you sleep? The foam chips work together with the high-performance fabric and the quilted channels of the garment to keep your limb soft and to encourage fluid movement away from saturated areas, all night long, as you sleep. The result is that, when the morning comes, your edematous limb has not increased in size overnight and may even have grown smaller! It is softer and more comfortable. It is easier to put on your daytime compression garment as a result. The daytime compression garment may also be more comfortable throughout the day because there should be less fluctuation of swelling throughout the day.

The Solaris Tribute can make life so much easier for lymphedema patients, that we feel that everyone with lymphedema should have access to it. We have dedicated ourselves to the goal of making this custom therapeutic lymphedema garment available to every lymphedema patient in Canada. You can learn more about the Solaris Tribute here: http://lymphedemadepot.com/blog/?p=191.

You can learn more about the Tribute and other Solaris therapeutic products for lymphatic and venous edemas as well as lipedema, traumatic edema and chronic swelling by visitng our website at www.LymphedemaDepot.com.

 

Introducing Channel Foam

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Our clinical specialist, John Mulligan, RMT/CLT-LANA, visited the Földi Clinic in the summer of 2011 and found the therapists there using foam they called Wave Foam as padding underneath their bandaging. It was a channeled foam of medium density and it had a dramatic effect on fibrotic tissue.

Inspired by the Földi therapists and their ingenuity, we wanted to make this unique and effective padding foam available to Canadian therapists.

Lymphedema Depot is happy to present our new Channel Foam. This convolute grey foam is a half inch thick with quarter inch thick channels cut through it. These peaks and channels create high and low pressure zones and encourage lymphatic flow in a distal to proximal direction while also sinking into and softening fibrotic tissue.

Our Channel Foam comes in 2’ x 3’ sheets which, like our flat sheets of therapeutic grey foam, can be custom cut for individual patients to create the right shape and size needed for incorporatioin into a multi-layer bandage application. We are confident that this new foam will find a place in lymphedema practices all over Canada.

Therapists can order this foam directly from Lymphedema Depot by using the ordering form found on this page: http://www.lymphedemadepot.com/products/sheetfoam.  Simply click on the thumbnail picture of the order sheet at the bottom of the page.

Lymphedema Depot offers grey foam in several thicknesses to be used as padding in multi-layer lymphedema bandaging as well as the new Channel Foam. Foam padding is an essential element of multilayer lymphedema bandaging as it works to disperse the concentric rings of pressure caused by overlapping short stretch bandaging. This evenly dispersed pressure allows the multi-layer bandage to create a consistent compression gradient throughout the length of the limb.

For more information about grey foam or the Solaris line of therapeutic garments (Tribute, Caresia, ReadyWrap and Swell Spots) available from Lymphedema Depot in Canada, please visit our website at www.LymphedemaDepot.com or email us at info@LymphedemaDepot.com.

Alberta Bound

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Earlier in  November I had the pleasure of making a trip to Alberta to attend the Alberta Lymphedema Association’s Lymphedema Education Session for Garment Fitters. Karen Van Heyst, a physiotherapist and certified lymphedema therapist, spoke to a group of nearly 20 compression garment fitters. Lymphedema Depot was on hand to introduce this extraordinary group of Calgary fitters to the Solaris line of therapeutic garments. The Tribute, Caresia, ReadyWrap and Swell Spots were well-received by the group.

ALA President Diane Martin and the rest of the Alberta Lymphedema Association are to be commended for producing this ground-breaking event. Compression garment fitters are a crucial link in the supply chain of providing appropriate compression garments to patients living with lymphedema and related disorders, yet they rarely get specialised training in understanding the condition of lymphedema.This evening was a great example of what can be done to remedy that situation. We hope to see more events like this as other regions adopt the practice of presenting this crucial information to compression garment fitters.

To learn more about the Alberta Lymphedema Association visit their website at http://www.albertalymphedema.com.

To learn more about Lymphedema Depot and the Solaris line of therapeutic garments for the management of lymphedema, lipedema, chronic venous insufficiency and related disorders, visit our website at www.LymphedemaDepot.com.