Lymphorrhea due to classical and mini-invasive surgical interventions on femoral and popliteal arteries is a serious hindrance to patient treatment. Depending on the experience of a particular center, the incidence and frequency of this type of complication may constitute a serious clinical problem. While the level of lymphorrhea intensity and its duration result in certain foreseeable consequences, their treatment can be a time-consuming and multistep procedure.

To compare different types of vascular interventions with lymphorrhea occurrence.

The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of lymphatic complications based on the material collected between 2005 and 2012 at the Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of the Military Institute of Medicine in Warsaw and in the Department of Interventional Cardiology and Angiology of the Institute of Cardiology in Anin, Warsaw, in 2009–2012.

Maintaining due thoroughness when dissecting tissues and treating the cutting line in this area with ligatures and tissue puncture are the most reliable methods of minimizing the risk of lymphatic leakage after surgical procedures performed in a classical way. The lymphatic complication under analysis is far less likely to occur when procedures are performed as planned and an endovascular technique is used – statistical significance p < 0.05. Minimally invasive and fully percutaneous procedures performed via needle puncture, including the use of the fascial closure technique to close the femoral artery, eliminate the likelihood of the occurrence of this vascular complication – statistical significance was found with p value less than 0.05.

We concluded that in every case by minimizing the vascular approach we protected the patient against lymphatic complications.