Learning About Lymphangiogram

A lymphangiogram (also called lymphography) is a test that uses X-ray or MRI technology to take images of your lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of your immune system. It is made up of the tissues and organs that help your body fight infection and disease. It includes the lymph nodes and lymph vessels (small vessels that transport fluid throughout your body). The lymphatic system can’t be seen with regular imaging tests.

Doctors inject a special dye (called contrast) into your body. It’s not harmful to your health. The dye makes your lymph nodes and lymph vessels show up on X-ray or MRI images. It also helps doctors see where an area might be blocked, which can be a sign of a tumor or other problem.

Doctors use this test to help find certain cancers or other health problems that affect the lymphatic system. They may also use it to see whether cancer has spread through the body or to check how well a treatment is working. Sometimes they do it before an operation to get details about what your lymphatic system looks like.

Before the test:

• Tell your doctor about any allergies, especially if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction to iodine.
• Talk to your doctor about any health conditions, especially if you have bleeding problems.
• Let your doctor know if you might be pregnant.
• Follow any directions your doctor may give you for not eating or drinking.
• Use the bathroom to empty your bladder right before the test.

Your doctor might offer you medicine to help you relax. You’ll sit in a special chair or lie down on an X-ray table.

Then your doctor injects a small amount of dye between your fingers or toes. Thin bluish lines will appear near the injection site. Your doctor uses them to find the best spot to inject the rest of the dye. The doctor will make a small cut and inject a thin flexible tube into a lymph channel. The rest of the dye flows in through the tube. This takes about an hour.

Sometimes the dye is injected directly into a lymph node instead. To do this, the doctor uses ultrasound to guide them as they inject a thin needle near your groin. This method might use a device called an insufflator to pump the dye.

While the dye spreads, the doctor uses a special type of X-ray machine, called a fluoroscope, to view images of your lymphatic system. After all the dye has entered your body, doctors remove the tube or needle and stitch up the injection site. Then they’ll use an X-ray or MRI machine to take more pictures of the areas of your body that they need to look at.

Most people go home right after the test. Your doctor will contact you to talk about the results.

You might have some pain or swelling where the dye was injected. This usually goes away within a few days.

Your body will get rid of most of the dye over the next few days. While that happens, your skin, urine, and stool might have a slightly different color. Some of the dye can stay in your lymph nodes for about 2 years, but it won’t harm you.

Lymphangiograms are very safe, and most people don’t have any problems. There is a small risk of:

• An allergic reaction to the dye or other substances used during the test.
• Bleeding.
• Infection.
• Inflamed lymph vessels.

The X-ray used during this test will expose you to a low level of radiation. But the amount of radiation is usually much too small to cause health problems.