snowyshroom

OT here...Learn the difference between physical, occupational, and speech therapies and treat us as equals. I work in a major hospital with lots of residents, and I find that a lot of them (plus a lot of other members on the team) seem to only care what PT has to say. We all have something to say.

Thank you, and good luck :)

Hey! I'm also an OT working in acute care, and my original question was already asked by /u/aishel (holla!).

However, I'm also a certified lymphedema therapist (CLT), so here is another question for you: A common issue we have in the lymphedema world is the patient who has gone years without a proper lymphedema diagnosis (after going from doctor to doctor and having all kinds of tests that turn up negative). Then they finally get referred to our clinic and they have already gone into stage III (terribly fibrotic, multiple infections, wounds, etc). After talking with multiple physicians, we have found that y'all just don't get enough education about the lymphatic system and lymphedema while in school.

So my question is, do you feel knowledgeable enough to recognize the signs of lymphedema in its earlier stages, and do you make referrals to lymphedema treatment clinics as part of your practice? If you don't feel knowledgeable enough about it, what is it that you don't know much about, and what kind of education would you find to be helpful?

Thanks, you're awesome!!

Yes, this is exactly what happens. I see many patients with "obvious" (to my trained eye) lymphedema being treated in the hospital with diuretics (can actually be detrimental to people with lymphedema). It happens so much that I've been thinking of doing an inservice about it for the residents and physicians of our two major internal medicine provider groups.

Thankfully, though, through tons of networking between our three major CLTs (me and two others) and numerous physicians in the hospital, the number of lymphedema consults we are getting, both in the hospital and in our outpatient clinic, is gradually increasing :) So that tells me that they're starting to recognize the signs and symptoms earlier on and are being proactive about it.

I feel like physicians like you who work in clinics that emphasize preventative medicine are key players in helping to stop the vicious cycle of lymphedema early on. A doc like you could play a major role in stopping the recurring infections and wounds early on by getting them into treatment. And I'm talking mostly about people with non-cancer-related lymphedema: primary/genetic, lipo-lymphedema, post-thrombotic syndrome, post-traumatic, and, oh god, the biggest one, CVI-related lymphedema.