Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome in an Indian Cancer Hospital

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in India and accounts for 27% of all cancers in women. Incidence rises in early thirties, peaks at 50-64 years. Approximately 48% are below 50 years of age. Most present when symptoms develop, so are 2B and beyond. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease. Surgical removal of the tumour is part of the treatment attempting a cure. Simple mastectomy involves removal of breast tissue without axillary lymph node dissection or removal of chest wall muscles. Radical mastectomy involves removal of the entire breast, skin, pectoralis major and minor muscles and ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes. Modified radical mastectomy involves removal of the breast and ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes. The pectoralis muscle is preserved. Breast conserving surgery involves removal of tumour with or without axillary dissection. The extent of surgery tells us about the nerve damage, local tissue handling. For example operating in upper and outer quadrant of breast and axilla increases nerve handling in that particular region. Local radiation also plays a role. Persistent pain after mastectomy was first reported in the 1970s by Wood and defined by International Association for Study of Pain (IASP) as pain in the anterior aspect of the thorax, axilla, and/or upper half of the arm beginning after mastectomy or quadrantectomy and persisting for more than three months after surgery and known as Postmastectomy pain Syndrome (PMPS). It is a common problem, with a 25- 60% incidence. The pain is described as burning or tenderness with paroxysms of lancinating, shock-like pain, and also described by some as dysesthesia (perception of non noxious stimuli as painful). Risk factors for PMPS include age, raised Body mass index (BMI), severity of postoperative pain, type of surgery, susceptibility to pain with a history of other pains such as headache and dysmenorrhoea. Axillary hematoma and postoperative radiotherapy have also been implicated in the development of PMPS. Tata Memorial Hospital, is a tertiary cancer institute in India. Around 4000 patients with suspected breast cancers register annually at the hospital and approximately 2800 breast cancer surgeries are performed yearly. Very few studies on PMPS in Indian population exist. We therefore plan to identify the incidence of PMPS in our patients and also the severity of pain along with its impact on daily function and quality of life

Sex

Female

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

80 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Female patient undergoing mastectomy simple radical with or without axilla dissection
* Literate and can read and write in either English, Hindi, Marathi
* Willing to fill forms and post them and/or answer questions on phone

Exclusion Criteria:

* Refusal of consent
* Patient who has previously undergone major surgery around breast and chest wall
* Benign breast pathology
* Patient's with impaired cognitive function
* Emergency surgery
* PECs block study (PECTORALIS BLOCK)

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