K Suresh*

Family Physician and Public Health Consultant, Bengaluru, and Visiting Professor of Practice, School of Environment Sciences, Public Health, and Sanitation Management, Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (KSRDPRU), GADAG, Karnataka, India

*Corresponding Author: K Suresh, Family Physician and Public Health Consultant, Bengaluru, and Visiting Professor of Practice, School of Environment Sciences, Public Health, and Sanitation Management, Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (KSRDPRU), GADAG, Karnataka, India.

Received: March 20, 2023; Published: April 13, 2023

Abstract

Chronic limbs edema is a progressive, physically disfiguring and currently incurable condition. Multiple etiologies must be considered and often more than one cause may be present especially in chronic bilateral oedema of both lower limbs. In India for want of vascular specialists at district level for evaluation, patients with lower limb edema visit Physicians or Endocrinologist or Cardiologist or even Surgeons if there is an history of injury. The role of lymphatic system regardless of the underlying pathology has been underestimated. A thorough history and physical examination and a carefully considered laboratory and imaging evaluation are critical in differentiating causes. A multifaceted program has been recommended to manage the swelling.

In this article, I report a case that was wrongly diagnosed as Hypothyroid case and following a reaction to the thyroid hormone was referred to a super specialty unit of a public sector Medical College to clinch the correct diagnosis after venous doppler test and treated appropriately to completely cure the condition otherwise thought to be incurable.

Material and Methods: A female of 43 years in known circle presented to Physician in March 2022, in Hubballi a city of author’s medical education. She was diagnosed as Hypothyroid case based on non-pitting bilateral chronic oedema and serum TSH levels. A drug reaction to the thyroid hormone led to second opinion seeking from me on video-consultation. After a detailed history, and video inspection of affected limbs I referred her to a super specialty unit of a public sector Medical College to clinch the correct diagnosis of cellulitis after venous doppler test and treated appropriately. An antibiotic therapy for over 2 weeks resolved the oedema of both the lower limbs. A review of literature and studies of lower limb oedema, epidemiology of Filariasis as the locality is known to be endemic are the resources guided this article.

 Keywords: Chronic Venous Disease; Lymphedema; Vascular Medicine

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Citation: K Suresh. “Curable Chronic Bilateral Swelling of Lower Limbs". Acta Scientific Clinical Case Reports 4.5 (2023): 03-09.

Copyright: © 2023 K Suresh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.