The incidence of lymphoedema was studied in 200 patients following a variety of treatments for operable breast cancer. Lymphoedema was assessed in two ways: subjective (patient plus observer impression) and objective (physical measurement). Arm volume measurement 15 cm above the lateral epicondyle was the most accurate method of assessing differences in size of the operated and normal arm. Arm circumference measurements were inaccurate. Subjective lymphoedema was present in 14 per cent whereas objective lymphoedema (a difference in limb volume greater than 200 ml) was present in 25.5 per cent. Independent risk factors contributing towards the development of subjective late lymphoedema were the extent of axillary surgery (P less than 0.05), axillary radiotherapy (P less than 0.001) and pathological nodal status (P less than 0.10). The risk of developing late lymphoedema was unrelated to age, menopausal status, handedness, early lymphoedema, surgical and radiotherapeutic complications, total dose of radiation, time interval since presentation, drug therapy, surgery to the breast, radiotherapy to the breast and tumour T stage. The incidence of subjective late lymphoedema was similar after axillary radiotherapy alone (8.3 per cent), axillary sampling plus radiotherapy (9.1 per cent) and axillary clearance alone (7.4 per cent). The incidence after axillary clearance plus radiotherapy was significantly greater (38.3 per cent, P less than 0.001). Axillary radiotherapy should be avoided in patients who have had a total axillary clearance.

Breast cancer treatment must nowadays optimize cosmetic results. This can be accomplished in selected cases by means of a single-stage operation that the authors call "skin-reducing mastectomy." The final scars imitate those of cosmetic surgery. Careful patient selection and improvement in the learning curve may reduce the complication rate.

No abstract

Lymphadenopathy is common, affecting patients of all ages. The current referral pattern for investigating patients with lymphadenopathy varies widely with no universally practised pathway. Our institution set up a lymph node diagnostic clinic (LNDC) accepting direct referrals from primary care physicians. Details of clinical presentation and investigations were recorded prospectively. Between December 1996 and July 2001, 550 patients were referred (M: 203; F:347). The median age was 40 years (range 14 -90). The median time between initial referral and the first clinic visit was 6 days. Of 95 patients diagnosed to have malignant diseases, the median time from the first clinic visit to reaching malignant diagnosis was 15 days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified five significant predictors for malignant nodes: male gender (risk ratio (RR) ¼ 2.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.63 -4.56), increasing age (RR ¼ 1.05; 95% CI: 1.04 -1.07), white ethnicity (RR ¼ 3.01; 95% CI: 1.19 -7.6) and sites of lymph nodes: supraclavicular region (RR ¼ 3.72; 95% CI: 1.52 -9.12) and X2 regions of lymph nodes (RR ¼ 6.41; 95% CI: 2.82 -14.58). Ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration cytology of palpable lymph nodes were performed in 154 and 289 patients, respectively. An accuracy of 97 and 84% was found, respectively. In conclusion, a multidisciplinary lymph node diagnostic clinic enables a rapid, concerted approach to a common medical problem and patients with malignant diseases were diagnosed in a timely fashion.

No abstract

Twenty-four patients with surgical section of the accessory nerve and/or its cervical contribution(s) were examined from 1 to 156 months after surgery, and compared to twenty controls. Thirteen patients had a classical neck dissection; seven had the whole length of the accessory nerve preserved but not the cervical plexus contributions. Four had the upper half of the accessory nerve sectioned, but with preservation of both the lower half and its cervical contributions. Clinical and electrophysiological studies of the three portions of the trapezius suggested the existence of an undescribed motor nerve supply to the trapezius and of a motor input from the cervical plexus contributions via the accessory nerve. The former is also supported by an anatomical study.

No abstract

Breast Surgery is now a recognized subspecialty of General Surgery abroad with structured training for designated 'Oncoplastic Breast Surgeons'. Oncoplastic Breast surgery is probably one of the most interesting and challenging new developments over the past 20 years. The aims of Oncoplastic surgery are wide local excision of the cancer coupled with partial reconstruction of the defect to achieve a cosmetically acceptable result. Avoidance of mastectomy and consequent reduction of psychological morbidity are the principal goals in the development of various oncoplastic techniques. The use of plastic surgical techniques not only ensures good cosmetic outcome, but also allows the cancer surgeon to remove the tumour with greater volume of surrounding tissue, thus extending the boundaries of breast conserving surgery. Proper patient selection and careful planning after proper radiological and clinical assessment are the two essential prerequisites before undertaking oncoplastic breast surgery. Oncoplastic surgery involves both volume displacement and volume replacement techniques. Some commonly used volume displacement procedures are described in the article. The need for adjustment of contralateral breast should also be anticipated at the time of planning breast conserving surgery, which can be done either at the same time as breast cancer surgery or as a delayed setting.