The Incidence of Swollen Arms after Radical Mastectomy and Suggestions for Prevention

Abstract

ON a number of occasions when a patient has been told that she would have to have her breast removed she has asked if that meant loss of use of her arm. There have been enough cases in the community in which postoperative swelling of the arm has interfered with or destroyed the function of the arm for this fear to be constantly found among Stewart and Treves1 state conservatively speaking, some degree of swollen arm supervenes radical mastectomy in about 70 per cent of women. Macdonald2 says after radical mastectomy, 40 to 50 per cent of women . . .