Microsurgical lymphedema treatment: An objective evaluation of the quality of online information

Abstract Lymphedema affects almost 300 million people world-wide. Recent advances in microsurgery introduced two promising physiologic surgical treatments: lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) and vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT). Patients seek for information about their pathology and treatment options, searching on the Web mostly. The quality of online health-related information remains doubtful and the authors aimed to assess it for what concerns LVA and VLNT procedures. The expanded Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) scale was applied to 17 selected websites that deal with LVA and 28 with VLNT. For both procedures, the main part of the websites belonged to the Hospital portals group, that scored the lowest EQIP scores. In particular, the quantitative description of benefits, side-effects and alert signs along with precaution that patients may take, resulted inadequate. Physiologic reconstruction for lymphedema generally provides modest benefits, and only for a specific subgroup of patients. The available online information generally does not appear to convey the quantitative benefits, or lack thereof, which can result in patients presenting with unrealistic expectations about the potential to address their lymphedema. Surgeons should guide their patients in this quest, warning them on the potential misinformation they might hit in the web.