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CC BY 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2025; 52(05): 304-309
DOI: 10.1055/a-2448-3403
Extremity/Lymphedema
Case Report

Successful Surgical Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination Related Upper Extremity Lymphedema: Case Report

Hyung Hwa Jeong 
1   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hanyang University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Dong Jin Kim 
2   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
,
Hyunsuk Peter Suh 
2   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
,
Chang Sik John Pak 
2   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
,
Joon Pio Hong 
2   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
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Abstract

Lymphedema is rare adverse effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination that has been reported in several studies. We present a case of surgically treated secondary lymphedema after COVID-19 vaccination. The patient presented lymphedema at the upper extremity with no specific history except the COVID-19 vaccination 18 months before the visit. Lymphaticovenous anastomosis and liposuction were performed on the posterolateral aspect of the forearm and the upper arm. The volume of the affected arm was reduced to more than 54% at 8 months postoperatively. With precise surgical planning, secondary lymphedema resulting from COVID-19 vaccination could be successfully treated surgically.

Keywords

COVID-19 vaccines - adverse effect - lymphedema - secondary lymphedema - surgical procedures

Authors' Contributions

H.H.J.: Wrote the paper, performed the analysis.

D.J.K.: Contributed data or analysis tools.

C.S.P.: Performed the analysis.

H.S.P.S.: Conceived and designed the analysis.

J.P.H.: Conceived and designed the analysis.


Ethical Approval

This case report was conducted in compliance with ethical standards and received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) with approval number ‘S2022-2832-0002’.


Patient Consent

The patients provided written informed consent for the publication and the use of their images.




Publication History

Received: 20 December 2023

Accepted: 27 July 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
23 October 2024

Article published online:
08 July 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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