Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome: A Primer for Plastic Surgeons

Postmastectomy Functional Impairments

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This narrative review aims to offer a thorough summary of functional impairments commonly encountered by breast cancer survivors following mastectomy. Its objective is to discuss the factors influencing these impairments and explore diverse strategies for managing them.

RECENT FINDINGS

Postmastectomy functional impairments can be grouped into three categories: neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and lymphovascular. Neuromuscular issues include postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) and phantom breast syndrome (PBS). Musculoskeletal problems encompass myofascial pain syndrome and adhesive capsulitis. Lymphovascular dysfunctions include lymphedema and axillary web syndrome (AWS). Factors such as age, surgical techniques, and adjuvant therapies influence the development of these functional impairments. Managing functional impairments requires a comprehensive approach involving physical therapy, pharmacologic therapy, exercise, and surgical treatment when indicated. It is important to identify the risk factors associated with these conditions to tailor interventions accordingly. The impact of breast reconstruction on these impairments remains uncertain, with mixed results reported in the literature.

Preliminary results of alternative treatment for postmastectomy pain syndrome: stromal vascular fraction-enriched fat grafting

Postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) is defined as chronic pain lasting more than 3 months after surgery. PMPS reduces the quality of life for patients and affects their daily life. Although the pathogenesis of PMPS has not been clearly elucidated, it is strongly suggestive of neuropathic pain caused by damage to the intercostobrachial nerve. While previous studies have used stromal vascular fraction (SVF)-enriched fat grafts in patients with neuralgia, few studies have used it for PMPS. Therefore, the present study evaluated the use of SVF-enriched fat, which includes adipose-derived stem cells with good differentiation capacity, in patients with PMPS to improve quality of life and reduce neuropathic pain. In three patients, the fat was mixed with concentrated SVF using a centrifuge and injected into the primary pain sites. After surgery, in all three cases, the subjective pain scale score decreased significantly over time.

Post-Breast Surgery Pain Syndrome: Shifting a Surgical Paradigm

Post-mastectomy pain syndrome and the less well-described post-breast surgery pain syndrome are long-term neuropathic pain conditions that may affect more than 50% of patients after mastectomy and breast surgery. While the etiology, risk factors, and management have been reviewed in our literature, we offer here a focused outline that will gear the plastic surgeon with tools to lead a multidisciplinary, algorithmic approach to the care of patients with post-mastectomy pain syndrome/post-breast surgery pain syndrome. After reading this article, we hope the reader will have improved awareness of post-mastectomy pain syndrome/post-breast surgery pain syndrome, and thus be able to incorporate appropriate treatments and preventative steps into their primary surgical routine.

Prepectoral implant pocket conversion in breast reconstruction

Introduction

While many authors have reported their experience in immediate prepectoral breast reconstruction (BR), implant pocket conversion from a submuscular to a prepectoral plane is less well described. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review on plane conversion in implant-based BR, including the indications, surgical techniques, functional, and esthetic results.

Materials and Methods

A literature search via PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases was performed using the following MeSH terms: “prepectoral pocket conversion”, “subcutaneous pocket conversion”, “prepectoral plane conversion”, “subcutaneous plane conversion”, and “prepectoral breast reconstruction”.

Results

Ten articles in which 504 breasts were studied were deemed eligible for inclusion. The indications to perform plane conversion were animation deformity (AD), chronic pain, and implant malposition. Seven studies described complete or partial capsulectomy. The use of acellular dermal matrices (ADM) was reported in all cases except for three studies. The mean follow-up was 10.64 months. There was resolution of AD in 100% of cases. Three studies reported complete resolution of chronic pain. The overall complication rate was 12.102% and capsular contracture (CC) was the most frequent complication. Cosmetic revisions were reported in six studies (9.52%). The use of ADMs and fat grafting appeared to decrease the rate of subsequent CC formation and cosmetic revisions.

Conclusions

The current article represents the first review about implant pocket conversion from a submuscular to a prepectoral plane, delineating its indications, surgical technique, postoperative complications, and functional and esthetic outcomes.

Factors associated with chronic pain following breast reconstruction in Japanese women

Chronic pain after breast surgery including breast reconstruction is a major concern for patients. However, the factors associated with chronic pain after breast surgery are uncertain in Japanese population. The aim of this study was to identify patient-specific and medical/surgical factors that predict chronic pain after breast surgery in Japanese patients. The subjects were 189 Japanese women undergoing breast surgery including tissue expander/implant (TE/implant), deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) procedures and mastectomy only. Pain was assessed at one year postoperatively using a validated survey instrument: the Japanese version of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ-JV). A multiple linear regression model was used to examine the relationships of clinical factors with postoperative pain. Surveys were completed by 141 subjects. A younger age (p = .04) and bilateral procedures (p < .05) were both closely associated with the extent of increased postoperative pain at 1 year using the MPQ-Total pain rating. Compared to total mastectomy only, TE/implant procedures showed a significantly lower visual analog scale (VAS) (p = .04) and present pain index (PPI) (p = .03) scores. No factor related to chronic pain was also significantly related to the frequency of pain medication use postoperatively or the effect of social life of the patients. This study identified patients at risk for greater chronic pain after breast surgery. These findings will allow surgeons to improve patient comfort, reduce clinical morbidity and enhance patient satisfaction with their surgical outcome. Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; CI: confidence interval; DIEP: deep inferior epigastric perforator flap; MPQ: McGill pain questionnaire; PPI: present pain index; SD: standard deviation; SF-MPQ-JV: Japanese version of the short-form McGill pain questionnaire; TE: tissue expander; VAS: visual analog scale.