Nerve entrapment syndromes as complications of post-mastectomy lymphedema – A review of the literature

World Congress on Breast Cancer

August 03-05, 2015 Birmingham, UK

Vasileios Gkorgkolis, Panagiotis Zogopoulos, Georgios Tsanis, Ioannis Ydraios, Aggelos Leventis and Panagiotis Kokkalis

Royal Preston Hospital, Preston, United Kingdom
General Hospital of Nikaia-Piraeus â�?�?Agios Panteleimonâ�?, Athens, Greece

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Breast cancer, the leading type of cancer and cancer-related deaths among women, affects them 100 times more often than men and accounts for 25% of all cases. There are various treatment modalities including surgery, hormonal treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. All of them are associated with several side effects with upper extremity lymphedema being a common one, observed in up to 50% of cases post-operatively (mastectomy and lymphadenectomy). Lymphedema can lead to nerve entrapment syndromes, such as brachial plexus entrapment and carpal tunnel syndrome (median nerve compression at the wrist), with disabling symptoms of the arm (edema, pain, weakness, numbness or paraesthesia). However, there are studies reporting that lymphedema is not associated with the presence or severity of carpal tunnel syndrome. In any case, lymphedema and upper extremity symptoms, like those mentioned above, should be included in the list of possible postmastectomy complications and the patients should be counselled and informed accordingly.

Biography :

Vasileios Gkorgkolis is a Senior House Officer at the Department of Plastic Surgery at Royal Preston Hospital (UK). He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Pace University (New York, USA) and has received a six-month training in Medicine and Biology at Moscow State University (Russia). He has presented a number of researches in several conferences.

Email: p.zogopoulos.yahoo.com