PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH AXILLARY WEB SYNDROME AFTER BREAST CANCER TREATMENT: INCIDENCE, PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL ASPECTS

Patricia Vieira Guedes Figueira, Cinira Assad Simão Haddad, Roberta Pitta Costa Luz, Samanta Karlla Lopes de Almeida Rizzi, Thaís Lúcia Pinheiro, Simone Elias Martinelli, Gil Facina, Afonso Celso Pinto Nazário

Institution: Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo

“Objective: The objective of this study is to describe Axillary web syndrome (AWS) incidence, prevalence and clinical characteristics. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 173 women outpatient at Mastology division of Universidade Federal de São Paulo between July 2014 and September 2015. Patients were subjected to assessments that included cord characteristics (location, number, thickness, if were palpable and/or visible) before surgery and 7, 15 , 30, 60, 90 and 180 days postoperatively. The shoulder ROM and pain were also evaluated.

Results: The Cords were present in 66,1% after 7 days and in 90,9% after 180 days. During follow up, 80% of cords were present in the axilla, 66% had ≥ 1 mm of thick and more than 70% of them were palpable. There was association between the presence cord and reduced ROM for shoulder flexion (78.4 % , p <0.001) and abduction (55% , p <0.001). No association was found between cords and moderate or severe pain (39.7% , p = 0.204).

Conclusion: We found higher prevalence of cords than previously reported, probably due to a structured and prospective evaluation. Also, the majority of the cords were found of the first time in 7 days after the surgery. Besides cord presence, ROM limitation was the most frequent component of axillary web syndrome.

Key words: axillary web syndrome, breast cancer, incidence, range of motion, pain