Use of the HIVAMAT® 200 with manual lymphatic drainage in the management of lower-limb lymphoedema and lipoedema

<p class="p1"><strong>Background: </strong>Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is a well-recognised and traditional treatment modality for oedema. HIVAMAT^® 200 is a novel device that uses an intermittent electrostatic field to stimulate blood and lymphatic flow, thereby reducing oedema. This study aims to compare the effects of MLD alone to HIVAMAT^® 200 plus MLD. <strong>Method: </strong>Three females with lipoedema and two males with lymphoedema were recruited. The larger leg was treated with HIVAMAT^® 200 plus MLD and the contralateral limb with MLD only over the course of 3 weeks. Efficacy of treatment was determined with measurements of leg volumes and high-definition ultrasound to analyse oedema. <strong>Results: </strong>The mean reduction in volume for the HIVAMAT^® 200 plus MLD-treated legs was 902 ml (SD 793 ml) and the mean reduction in MLD-only legs was 707 ml (SD 630 ml). While there was greater improvement in the HIVAMAT^® 200-treated limb, this was not statistically significant (<em>p</em>=0.06). Using high-definition ultrasound to analyse oedema, the limbs treated with HIVAMAT^® 200 plus MLD showed significantly greater reduction in levels of oedema than the limbs treated with MLD alone (<em>p</em>=0.017). <strong>Conclusion: </strong>HIVAMAT^® 200 reduces lower-limb oedema and is at least as efficacious as MLD in achieving volume reduction. Prospective studies with larger numbers of participants are required to further evaluate this. </p>n<p> </p>