When does delaying compression for chronic oedema become a harm?
Channel: Legs Matter
Date: 2023-12-11

A webinar in partnership with Legs Matter and 3M

SPEAKERS
Ruth Yeoell - Medical Liaison at 3M (Moderator)
Rebecca Elwell - Lymphoedema, Macmillan Lymphoedema Advanced Nurse Practitioner, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
Kate Williams - Senior Lecturer in Tissue Viability at the University of Huddersfield and an Honorary Tissue Viability Nurse for Leeds Community Healthcare Trust

Chronic oedema is an umbrella term for abnormal prolonged swelling of the lower leg potentially caused by many different factors, but more commonly with the venous and or lymphatic system. Unfortunately, awareness of chronic oedema is poorly understood, despite having significant consequences and a potential precursor to leg ulceration.

It is often seen as a benign condition and something that the patient just has to live with. Due to many factors such as over stretched or access to services, awareness of the condition and accurate diagnosis, patients are only managed if there is an associated wound or “leaky leg” or if it is of a cancer-related lymphoedema – all of which is the tip of the iceberg! The Leg’s Matter campaign seeks to address such a harm through its 10-point plan to radically rethink how people are treated with leg and foot conditions.

The question being – “Should not applying compression to patients living with chronic oedema be considered a harm?”