Since chronic pain can develop following routine breast surgery, many perioperative interventions have been suggested in an attempt to minimize postoperative pain and prevent the development of chronic pain . The article discusses the risk factors, diagnosis, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic physiatric management of postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) in women. PMPS SYNDROME The persistent pain following breast surgery, including lumpectomy, breast reconstruction, augmentation, and reduction; procedures targeting the upper outer quadrant of the breast or axilla which are prone to pain syndromes, roughly define postmastectomy syndrome.
For a diagnosis of PMPS, pain must persist for more than 3 months postoperatively when all other causes of pain, such as infection or tumor recurrence, have been exclude; however, no specific diagnostic criteria is universally accepted. EPIDEMIOLOGY…
