Clinical Analysis Of Arm Complications After Mastectomy Followed By Radiotherapy

Objective: To assess the prevalence of arm complications after mastectomy followed by radiotherapy and to identify it's potentially contributing factors.Methods: 74 patients treated with radical mastectomy or modified radical mastectomy followed by post-operation radiotherapy were evaluated in this study. The period of follow-up was more than 1 year after radiotherapy, its median was 2.8 years. The complains and signs associated with arm edema and decreased shoulder mobility were scored by using a grading system, which was adapted from LENT-SOMA and the scales designed by Erickson et al. Treatment variables and possible etiologic factors were analyzed using binary logistic regression.Results: The complains and signs of arm edema were found in 51% and 49% patients respectively, and which of shoulder joint disease were found in 49% and 58% patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk of arm complications was increased obviously in the older women and the patients with whole axillary irradiated.Conclusions: Arm edema and limited shoulder motion were common complications after radical mastectomy or modified radical mastectomy followed by radiotherapy, and the risk were increased obviously in older women and patients with whole axillary irradiated. That emphasizes the importance of further efforts to perform less invasive procedures in axillarytreatment.