The use of spermatic cord lymphatics in the relief of surgically created lower extremity edema. A preliminary report of experiments in dogs.

When lower extremity lymphedema is not amenable to control by medical methods, attempts to ameliorate the problem surgically have generally been unsatisfactory. The intact testis and spermatic cord provide a potential bridge that may permit communication between the unobstructed lymphatics of the gonadal system and the obstructed lymphatics of the lower extremity. Preliminary experience in male dogs wherein lower extremity lymphedema is first induced surgically and is treated by testicular implantation into the edematous thigh shows that lympholymphatic communications between the lower extremity and the gonadal system may result.