Expert: Minas T Chrysopoulo, MD - 12/3/2009

Question
long story short....i was dx w/breast cancer in 2008.  the drs thought that we caught it early but when they went in, it was bigger than expected.  i had a L mastectomy and about 7 lymph nodes were taken out.  i also had the expander put in.  Keep in mind that my decision was based on the caught it early stage.  i did chemo and radiation.  anway, with that aside, i was able to bring my left arm up to the side of my head w/no problem.  now that i just had my implant put in, i can't seem to move my arm freely like before.  i was told that i had "frozen shoulder".  my question is.....is this common.  when i looked up of how you get a frozen shoulder, it said from "shoulder injury or by shoulder surgery".  i didn't have any of those, so could this be because of the radiation....scaring the tissue.  i hope i'm making sense, pls advise!

Answer
Dear Kaneohegirl,

Yes, this is fairly common, particularly after lymph node surgery and radiation. You are exactly right - the problem is scarring and hardening of the tissues. I would highly recommend evaluation and treatment by a physical therapist, preferably one experienced in dealing with post-mastectomy loss of motion and stiffness.

Dr C
http://www.prma-Enhance.com