A trial looking at a way to prevent lymphoedema after surgery to remove the lymph nodes under your arm (PLACE)

This trial is trying to find out if wearing an elastic sleeve (external compression) helps to stop early signs of swelling in the arm developing into lymphoedema after surgery for breast cancer.

Surgery is often the first treatment for breast cancer. If the cancer has spread to your lymph nodes, your surgeon may remove all the nodes under your arm. This is called an axillary clearance. If you have an axillary clearance, the normal fluid drainage channels of the lymphatic system may become blocked. Fluid does not drain in the normal way and the arm can become swollen. This is called lymphoedema.

More than half of those who have some arm swelling in the first few months after surgery will develop lymphoedema within the next 2 years. In this trial, the researchers describe lymphoedema as your swollen arm being at least 10% bigger than it was before surgery.

The standard care for early signs of arm swelling would be for your specialist to give you information about lymphoedema and to monitor you closely. They can teach you ways of reducing your risk of lymphoedema, such as positioning your arm and gentle exercises. But researchers want to see if treating this early swelling with external compression helps women more than standard care. External compression involves wearing an elastic sleeve each day and is already used to treat lymphoedema.

The aim of the trial is to see if treating early signs of arm swelling with external compression reduces the number of women who go on to develop lymphoedema.