© Mandurah Oedema Clinic 2020
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Measuring Oedema
It has been said that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it and no where is this more relevant
than with oedema. How do you know if you are getting oedema after surgery if you can’t compare
what you were like before to what you are like now?
Cancer
Diagnosis
L-Dex
Baseline
Primary
Treatment
Follow Up
L-Dex
L-Dex
Outside
Normal
Range
L-Dex
Increase
of 10 units
from
baseline
Clinical
Assessment
Clinical
Assessment
Early
Intervention
NO
NO
YES
YES
How L-Dex measurements are used in Cancer Clients
We measure oedema in a number of ways but one of the most effective is using bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS).
Using BIS, we can establish a baseline for the fluid in your body and use that to compare against measurements taken
during & after treatment. By comparing the readings, we can measure your risk of getting oedema and also how
effective your oedema treatments are.
BIS uses a measurement called L-Dex (you can find out more about L-Dex on the bioimpedance page)
As you can see from the diagram, without an early measurement straight after diagnosis, it is difficult to gauge
whether you are at risk of getting oedema as there would be nothing to compare your current body fluid make up
with that before your treatment.
Outside of cancer treatment, Bioimpedance Spectroscopy has a role in testing for Primary Lymphoedema. Primary
Lymphoedema is a hereditary form of lymphoedema passed down through families. Getting the whole family tested
provides a measure of their risk of getting oedema and allows us to plan for early intervention, stating treatment early
so as to reduce the effect of Primary Lymphoedema on the client over their life.
OEDEMA
Understanding Oedema
Measuring Oedema
Secondary Lymphoedema
Primary Lymphoedema
Lipoedema
Treating Oedema
Referrals
How Qualified is your
therapist?
© Mandurah Oedema Clinic 2020
Measuring Oedema
We measure oedema in a number of ways but one
of the most effective is using bioimpedance
Spectroscopy (BIS).
Using BIS, we can establish a baseline for the fluid in
your body and use that to compare against
measurements taken during & after treatment. By
comparing the readings, we can measure your risk
of getting oedema and also how effective your
oedema treatments are.
BIS uses a measurement called L-Dex (you can find
out more about L-Dex on the bioimpedance page)
It has been said that if you can’t measure
it, you can’t manage it and no where is this
more relevant than with oedema. How do
you know if you are getting oedema after
surgery if you can’t compare what you
were like before to what you are like
now?
How L-Dex measurements are used in Cancer
Clients
As you can see from the diagram, without an early
measurement straight after diagnosis, it is difficult
to gauge whether you are at risk of getting
oedema as there would be nothing to compare
your current body fluid make up with that before
your treatment.
Outside of cancer treatment, Bioimpedance
Spectroscopy has a role in testing for Primary
Lymphoedema. Primary Lymphoedema is a
hereditary form of lymphoedema passed down
through families. Getting the whole family tested
provides a measure of their risk of getting oedema
and allows us to plan for early intervention, stating
treatment early so as to reduce the effect of
Primary Lymphoedema on the client over their life.
Mandurah Oedema Clinic
