Family caregivers’ perceptions of postoperative recovery experience following deep cervical lymphovenous anastomosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Deep cervical lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) has been proposed as a novel surgical approach for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, its therapeutic efficacy remains uncertain and controversial. Family caregivers who observe patients most closely and continuously play a vital role in recognizing subtle symptom changes. Their perceptions may provide important clues to perioperative symptom and caregiving-burden changes that remain poorly understood. AIMS: To explore family caregivers’ perceptions of patients’ symptom and caregiving burden changes before and after LVA in individuals with AD. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 20 family caregivers of 20 distinct patients who had undergone LVA at a tertiary hospital in Henan Province, China. Semi-structured telephone interviews were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s framework with NVivo 15. RESULTS: Three themes emerged, namely a spectrum of perceived postoperative symptom change trajectories; shifts in caregiving burden without added postoperative strain; sustaining hope through continued effort. CONCLUSION: Caregivers reported modest postoperative changes mixed with persistent uncertainty. Future research may integrate quantitative assessments with caregiver reports to better characterize postoperative symptom changes in AD patients following LVA.