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- Jun 25, 2008
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I am a FP attending and I quite often have a number of patients (and nurses) ask me why they have a change in the sensitivity of their breasts or even sharp pains.
I don't really know how to respond to this and generally tell them, "Well, anytime you cut on flesh, you going to sever nerve endings so it is not surprising you will have some slight numbness or tingling from time to time. Also, during surgery there is quite a bit of stretching of tissue, so nerves can get stretched as well. So, some numbness or even the opposite like more sensitivity is possible, but this may get better with time." When they ask me about "sharp, stabbing pains", I shrug because I'm not really sure what they should expect, so I tell them they might check with their surgeon to see what they have to say about it.
For my own knowledge, what are the "sharp pains"? Are these adhesions? Or should I just chalk it up to a post-surgical pain syndrome? Tell me what you guys think.
L2C
I don't really know how to respond to this and generally tell them, "Well, anytime you cut on flesh, you going to sever nerve endings so it is not surprising you will have some slight numbness or tingling from time to time. Also, during surgery there is quite a bit of stretching of tissue, so nerves can get stretched as well. So, some numbness or even the opposite like more sensitivity is possible, but this may get better with time." When they ask me about "sharp, stabbing pains", I shrug because I'm not really sure what they should expect, so I tell them they might check with their surgeon to see what they have to say about it.
For my own knowledge, what are the "sharp pains"? Are these adhesions? Or should I just chalk it up to a post-surgical pain syndrome? Tell me what you guys think.
L2C