ABSTRACT
Background: Chronic pain is known to develop after several surgeries including mastectomy. Mastectomy is the surgical treatment for breast cancer. The prevalence of chronic pain after breast surgery varied between different studies and several risk factors for developing pain were reported
Aim: To investigate the prevalence of persistent pain and its possible risk factors after mastectomy
Methods: This crosssectional study was performed by establishing online survey from October 2017 to December 2017. The study included 380 female who performed unilateral mastectomy
Results: Persistent pain was prevalent in 47.4% of participants whose mean age was 63+/-12.1 years old and mean BMI equal 28.9+/-5.2. Positive lymph node was more common in patients with pain 78.3%, more women with pain 60.5% received radiotherapy. ALND was more common in individuals without pain 67.5%, while SN was more common in patients with pain 46.7%
Conclusion: The prevalence of persistent pain was high with moderate severity. Older age, high BMI, positive lymph node, radiation therapy and SN axillary procedure were risk factors for developing persistent pain after mastectomy