Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of arm swelling duration on shoulder pathology in patients with lymphedema. Forty.seven breast cancer patients with unilateral lymphedema were assessed. We surveyed the duration of arm swelling and shoulder pain. The patients then participated in a shoulder ultrasound examination for lesions. We divided our patients into two groups based on a lymphedema duration of within 1 year and after 1 year. The shoulder ultrasound findings in patients with more than 1 year of lymphedema revealed that a supraspinatus tendon tear was more common. In contrast. subacromial subdeltoid bursal thickening was more common in the within I year group. Patients with a supraspinatus tendon tear (n = 13) revealed a significant longer duration (1310 days vs. 398 days. P=O.026). Subacromial subdeltoid bursal thickening had shorter duration trend but was not significant (454 days vs. 892 days. P=O.058). The duration of lymphedema influences rotator cuff tendon pathology. Clinicians should therefore adopt an early management approach to shoulder pain by obtaining a precise diagnosis in patients with breast cancer related lymphedema.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 33-36 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | European Journal of Lymphology and Related Problems |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 73 |
| State | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Breast neoplasms
- Lymphedema
- Shoulder pain
- Ultrasonography
