الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Lymphedema is a swelling that occurs when protein-rich lymph fluid accumulates in the interstitial tissue. This lymph fluid may contain plasma proteins, extravascular blood cells, excess water, and parenchymal products. Patients who undergo axillary surgery for breast cancer are at particular risk for the development of lymphedema as well as other arm morbidities. Prevention primarily focuses on using specific surgical techniques to minimize damage to axillary lymphatics (eg, limiting the extent of ALND) as the use of the sentinel lymph node biopsy technique. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the incidence of arm lymphedema among the examined breast cancer patients who had apical axillary lymph node dissection. This study included 70 women with well-established diagnosis of malignant breast tumor. All patient operated with modified radical mastectomy technique or conservative treatment and level I, II or level III ALND dissection was done. The incidence of upper arm lymphedema in the patients who underwent level III ALND was higher than the patients who underwent only level I, II ALND. |