Surgical Management of Post-Traumatic Lymphedema: A Scoping Review Protocol
Abstract
Post‑traumatic lymphedema (PTL) is a disabling chronic complication of extremity trauma, arising from mechanical disruption of lymphatic conduits following fractures, crush injury, degloving trauma or scar entrapment. A variety of surgical interventions have been described, including lymphaticovenular anastomosis, vascularised lymph node transfer, lymphatic free tissue transfer and debulking procedures, yet the overall evidence landscape remains scattered, and no scoping review has systematically mapped the available literature to date. This scoping review aims to systematically chart the breadth and characteristics of published clinical evidence on surgical management of PTL, summarise reported clinical outcomes, safety profiles and technical approaches, and identify knowledge gaps to guide future research. The review follows the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‑ScR) framework. Eight bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP and clinical trial registries) will be searched from inception onwards. Two reviewers will independently perform study screening, data extraction and methodological quality assessment using the JBI critical appraisal checklist. Findings will be synthesised narratively and presented as an evidence map structured by intervention type, study design and outcome domain. At the time of registration, database searching and title/abstract screening have been completed. This protocol is registered prior to full‑text assessment and final data synthesis to ensure methodological transparency.
