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Lymphoscintigraphy in paediatric and adolescent patients

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Abstract

Lymphoscintigraphy has emerged as the diagnostic test of choice differentiating lymphoedema from other causes of extremity swelling in adult and paediatric patients with a high clinical suspicion of impaired lymphatic function. In paediatric patients who present with lymphoedema, primary lymphoedema accounts for the majority of the cases, with prevalence estimates that approximate 1.15/100,000 persons aged less than 20 years. Other causes of lymphoedema include combined lymphatic vascular diseases and to a lesser extent, secondary lymphoedema due to surgical and non-surgical trauma to the lymphatic system. Lymphoscintigraphy plays an important role in the direction of clinical management in these patients with lymphoedema and proper recognition of lymphoscintigraphic patterns in this population is essential. Sentinel lymph node localization and biopsy has become standard of care in adult patients with melanoma and breast cancer. It is recommended in paediatric and adolescent patients with melanoma, peripheral rhabdomyosarcomas, and several specific soft tissue sarcomas.

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Authors’ contribution

R. Howman-Giles: Literature search, content planning, manuscript writing. T. Pascual: Original case reviews, illustration preparation, manuscript review. R. Uren: Manuscript review and editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, NSW, 2145, Australia

    Robert Howman-Giles

  2. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Robert Howman-Giles & Roger Uren

  3. Alfred Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound, RPAH Medical Centre, Newtown, NSW, Australia

    Robert Howman-Giles & Roger Uren

  4. Section of Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

    Thomas Pascual

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  1. Robert Howman-Giles
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Correspondence to Robert Howman-Giles.

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Howman-Giles, R., Pascual, T. & Uren, R. Lymphoscintigraphy in paediatric and adolescent patients. Clin Transl Imaging 4, 103–117 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40336-016-0165-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40336-016-0165-z

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