Complications, Functional Recovery, and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Axillary Surgery.

Background: Survivorship considerations have gained increasing importance in patients with early breast cancer. Every surgical procedure poses a risk of complications and a potential negative impact on patient‐reported outcomes (PROs), thereby driving growing interest in de‐escalation strategies in...

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Publicado en:Breast Journal Vol. 2026; pp. 1 - 10
Autores principales: Pellegrino, Monica, Ioppolo, Francesco, Ranalli, Monia, Miccini, Michelangelo, Rovere, Francesca La, Lancia, Stefania, Avenia, Stefano, Izzo, Paolo, Montagner, Giulia, D'Onghia, Giuliano, Polistena, Andrea, Wesley, Hannah
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell 7/8/2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: 7/8/2026
      vid: 2026
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
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        10.1155/tbj/1469203
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        atl: Complications, Functional Recovery, and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Axillary Surgery.
      aug:
        au:
          Pellegrino, Monica
          Ioppolo, Francesco
          Ranalli, Monia
          Miccini, Michelangelo
          Rovere, Francesca La
          Lancia, Stefania
          Avenia, Stefano
          Izzo, Paolo
          Montagner, Giulia
          D'Onghia, Giuliano
          Polistena, Andrea
          Wesley, Hannah
        affil: Department of Surgery "Pietro Valdoni",, Policlinico "Umberto I",, Sapienza" University of Rome,, Rome, 00128,, Italy
      sug:
        subj:
          Postoperative Complications Rehabilitation
          Functional Status
          Recovery
          Quality of Life
          Breast Neoplasms Surgery
          Axilla Surgery
          Breast Neoplasms Rehabilitation
          Patient-Reported Outcomes
          Postoperative Complications Epidemiology
          Human
          Rehabilitation, Cancer
          Retrospective Design
          Record Review
          Physical Medicine
          Questionnaires
          Shoulder Joint Physiology
          Physical Mobility
          Motor Activity
          Motor Skills Disorders Rehabilitation
          Sensation Disorders Rehabilitation
          Lymphedema Rehabilitation
          Lymph Nodes Surgery
          Age Factors
          Descriptive Statistics
          Health Care Delivery, Integrated
          Italy
          Nonexperimental Studies
          T-Tests
          Chi Square Test
          Quantitative Studies
          Analysis of Variance
      ab: Background: Survivorship considerations have gained increasing importance in patients with early breast cancer. Every surgical procedure poses a risk of complications and a potential negative impact on patient‐reported outcomes (PROs), thereby driving growing interest in de‐escalation strategies in breast cancer surgery. In this context, we aimed to assess complication rates, the potential role of physiatric rehabilitation in managing these complications, and the impact of axillary surgery on PROs. Methods: This retrospective single‐center cohort study included breast cancer patients who underwent surgery between January 2022 and March 2023 at the Breast Unit of Policlinico Umberto I, Rome. Among 164 patients operated on during the study period, 71 who underwent axillary surgery and received postoperative physiatric evaluation according to the institutional care pathway (PDTA) were included. The Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire was administered to evaluate PROs. Results: Among the included patients (n = 71), SLNB was performed in 71.83% and ALND in 21.13%. A total of 34/71 patients (47.89%) developed complications requiring rehabilitative treatment and were classified as cases, while the remaining patients constituted the control group. Overall, shoulder painful mobility limitation (56.34%) (SPML), motor deficit (54.93%) (MD), and sensory deficit (46.48%) (SD) were the most frequent complications, whereas lymphedema (LE) and scapular winging (SW) occurred in 4.23% each. More extensive axillary procedures were associated with a higher number of lymph nodes removed (p < 0.0001). Cases had significantly more lymph nodes removed than controls (p = 0.0003). Patients requiring rehabilitation were younger on average than controls. Recovery time differed significantly between cases and controls (p < 0.0001), with most patients recovering within 3 months from the first physiatric visit. DASH scores were significantly worse in patients requiring rehabilitative treatment than in controls (p < 0.0001). The mean DASH score was 14%. Higher DASH values were associated with postoperative complications requiring rehabilitation and delayed or absent recovery, particularly SPML, DM, DS, and SW. Conclusions: Functional impairment of the upper limb remained frequent and may affect patients' daily activities. These findings support the importance of integrating surgical management with early physiatric evaluation and rehabilitation to optimize functional recovery. Systematic assessment using patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs), such as the DASH questionnaire, may help identify disability early and support patient follow‐up.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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