Brachial Plexopathy After Modified Radical Mastectomy: A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: Brachial plexus injury (BPI) is not a common complication of surgery and anesthesia, which may happen with varied mechanisms like over-abduction, no appropriate positioning, and upper limb stretching. The overall prognosis of BPIs is commonly satisfactory, but the poor function of the upper limb may not be fully recovered in all cases and may end in the permanent sequel in serious injuries. Case Presentation: This study reported a woman with breast cancer. She developed a right brachial plexopathy following a modified radical mastectomy. Upon conservative treatment, full recovery was achieved and normal function of the right upper limb was observed 3 months following the operation. Conclusions: The arm's extremely abnormal positioning during intraoperative manipulation and axillary retraction or hyper abduction can lead to BPI. Nerve injury can occur even in diabetic patients, whose blood glucose is well controlled and have no other risk factors. If the nerve structure is intact, spontaneous recovery can be expected with conservative management.