For me, it has been partially successful. I'm doing a consult to see if I can have it done again. I had LVB (bypass) done by my regular surgeon at Mayo Jacksonville at the same time as DMX with ALND. He was reluctant to do it because he knew I was having radiation afterward and told me the rads would fry my nodes. Indeed, I did well until after rads, when I definitely experienced an uptick in swelling. This is also validated by my SOZO machine readings, which measure swelling in the limbs. I'm > 1 year out from rads, and 1.5 years out from surgery. In my mind, my Mayo surgeon did it halfway, in that he said he would only do one connection. Other women I've spoken with had 4 connections. I know of one women who has done great (she skipped rads) and another who is having it done again (she had rads). One doctor told me that the LVB works best when done at the time of initial breast surgery but I'm not sure if this is true or not.
I am meticulous about arm care, I see a CLT private pay 2x/month, exercise, wear a sleeve and guantlet regularly, use a pneumatic pump and have recently resumed swimming, which helps swelling due to the water pressure. Unfortunately, I seem to have truncal swelling as well - like on my side and upper back. Recently I've had to switch to a glove due to finger swelling. I set up a consult for another surgery recently because I feel like I'm doing so much already and am concerned that the lymphedema is getting worse. I'm still hanging on with a mild case but see the progression.