Answer:
(From Grabb and Smith CD-ROM:)
“…Lymphovenous and lymph node–venous shunts have been performed since the 1960's. In these procedures, a neighboring vein is anastomosed to lymphatic vessel or node. Lympholymphatic shunts were developed in the 1970's and are utilized to bypass regions of lymphatic obstruction. In these procedures, autologous lymphatic vessels are harvested from a nondiseased extremity and transposed or transplanted to bridge-occluded lymphatics. These shunts have been used in selected patients with hyperplastic lymphedema, but are ineffective in hypoplastic types, which represents most cases of primary lymphedema. Microlymphaticovenous anastomosis has also been used for lymphedema of male and female genitalia…”