Long-term prospective assessment of shoulder function after breast reconstruction involving a latissimus dorsi muscle flap transfer and postoperative radiotherapy

Autor: Rie Kushida, Tetsuya Taguchi, Koichi Sakaguchi, Toshiaki Numajiri, Yoshihiro Sowa, Toru Morihara
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Breast Cancer. 24:362-368
ISSN: 1880-4233
1340-6868
DOI: 10.1007/s12282-016-0711-6
Popis: Several investigators have evaluated the impaired function of the shoulder after removal of the latissimus dorsi muscle for breast reconstruction. However, a few investigators have studied whether including radiotherapy has a negative effect on functional recovery of the shoulder by a long-term follow-up after surgery. In this study, we compared objective measurements of shoulder function preoperatively and postoperatively for 3 years after latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) flap transfer and postoperative radiotherapy (PRT). Eighteen patients who underwent unilateral transfer of a pedicled LDM flap and PRT within 2 months of breast-conserving surgery were enrolled in this study. Range of motion (ROM) and muscle strength in exhaustive shoulder movements were measured before surgery, and at 3 and 6 months, and 1 and 3 years. The results of ROM measurements at 3months postsurgery showed significant decreases in both flexion and abduction by 7.1 and 9.2 % and at 3 years postsurgery by 4.7 and 5.7 %. The muscle strength measurements at 3 months postsurgery showed statistically significant decreases both in adduction and in the 2nd medial rotation by 30.7 and 25.9 % and at 3 years postsurgery by 36.4 and 20.4 %. A significant improvement in these impairments was not observed for 3 years after surgery compared with that at 3 months after surgery. A combination of the LDM flap procedure and PRT could be associated with a higher incidence of tissue adhesions in both flexion and abduction and muscle deficit both in adduction and in the 2nd medial rotation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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