In this issue of the European Journal of Internal Medicine (EJIM), Mazzolai et al. report on safety and preliminary efficacy of a novel device, that uses subcutaneously implanted catheters to provide alternative routes for drainage of excessive interstitial fluid from the lymphedematous arms of patients with history of breast-cancer. The fluid, diverted beyond the site of axillary lymphadenectomy, is then reabsorbed by the healthy, unaffected lymphatic system of the supraclavicular area [1]. Why would any such pilot report, pertaining an old reconstructive (so-called “lymphangioplasty”) surgical technique [2], be of particular relevance for the Readership of EJIM? The answer is dual: 1) the disease, i.e.
