Diagnostics and Treatments

We care for children with a wide range of central lymphatic disorders, offering cutting-edge diagnostic, medical, minimally invasive, and surgical treatments tailored to each child’s needs.

Care highlights and steps

• Central lymphatic disorders are complex, and detailed imaging is essential for accurate diagnoses and treatment. Our exceptional pediatric radiology team uses advanced imaging techniques, many developed at Stanford Medicine, to create a detailed road map of your child’s lymphatic system. For example, our dynamic magnetic resonance lymphangiography allows us to clearly see your child’s lymphatic anatomy and flow, enabling us to identify problems in even very small vessels.
• We consider every aspect of your child’s lymphatic condition to develop the most effective treatment plan. Once we have a clear diagnosis in hand, our multispecialty team creates a tailored, personalized care plan for your child, which may include minimally invasive procedures, microsurgery, or other therapies, depending on your child’s specific needs.
• Our team focuses on selective interventions designed to treat the source of your child’s condition while preserving normal lymphatic function. This helps relieve symptoms and supports long-term circulation, especially for children with congenital heart disease.

Diagnostic tests and treatments

Our care providers are experts in advanced lymphatic imaging, transcatheter intervention, and surgery. We offer the following tests and treatments:

• Magnetic resonance lymphangiography—A highly specialized MRI-based technique, refined at Stanford, that provides high-resolution imaging of the lymphatic system. In close collaboration with the interventional radiology team, this test includes dynamic contrast MR lymphangiography (helping doctors visualize how lymphatic fluid moves through your child’s body) and specialized hepatic lymphatic imaging (a detailed picture of the small vessels in your child’s liver). This test is critical for planning and guiding lymphatic treatments.
• Cardiac catheterization and lymphatic intervention—Our interventional cardiology and interventional radiology teams work together to perform advanced, minimally invasive lymphatic procedures. These include select lymphatic channel embolization (sealing a leak in a damaged lymphatic vessel), recanalization (opening a blocked vessel), angioplasty (opening narrowed vessels), and thrombectomy (removing clotted lymphatic fluid), as well as hemodynamic assessment (measuring the flow and pressure) of lymph fluid when needed. Bringing these two specialists together lets us diagnose and treat lymphatic flow disorders in a single setting.
• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound lymphangiography—An advanced imaging test that provides detailed, real-time visualization of lymphatic flow and helps identify areas of leakage or obstruction.
• Intestinal-directed therapies—Targeted treatments for lymphatic disorders affecting the gastrointestinal system, including conditions such as protein-losing enteropathy.
• Lymphatic microsurgery—In collaboration with our pediatric plastic surgery team, we offer super-microsurgical procedures such as lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA), to treat swelling from blocked lymphatic fluid, and lymph node–venous anastomosis (LNVA) to reroute lymphatic flow and improve drainage.