[Treatment of edema with special reference to lymph drainage therapy].

Depending on its genesis, edema must be treated by medication or diet. Simultaneous application of lymph drainage may be beneficial in some cases, especially in combined edema. In some kinds of edema, in particular lymphedema, only therapeutic lymph drainage introduced into medicine by Asdonk can attain an improvement in combination with compression stockings, since there is no drug which acts on the lymphatic system. The use of digitalis and diuretics is not justified in lymphedema. Surgical techniques have not been completely convincing so far.