Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.
Pain-relief and movement improvement by acupuncture after ablation and axillary lymphadenectomy in patients with mammary cancer
Introduction: In the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), pain and movement restrictions are considered as the result of a blocking of the “Jing-Luo-system” or of a disordered flow of the Jing-Qis in the “Jing-Luo-system”. Patients and methodology: In this study 48 patients with mammary cancer after ablation and axillary Iymphadenectomy were treated with acupuncture (group I); a control group of 32 patients with the same operation but without acupuncture was compared (group II). Results: The results showed a significantly higher maximum abduction angle (AA) at the first treatment immediately after acupuncture without pain (59.1 ° vs. 80.4°, p < 0.001) with respect to maximum tolerable pain barrier (73.6° vs. 92.3°, p < 0.001). Between group I (12.3%) and group II (50%) there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) in the appearance of pain in the operation field in the rest position on the 5th postoperative day, while on the 7th postoperative day 8.3% vs. 12.5%) and at the time of discharge a significant difference could not be seen (p > 0.05). The percentage of patients with pain during arm movements showed a statistically significant difference between group I and group II on the 5th postoperative day (81 % vs. 100%, p < 0.01), on the 7th postoperative day (43% vs. 96.9%, p < 0.01) and at time of discharge (27.1 % vs. 65.6%, p < 0.001). The differences in the abduction angle between group I and group II were also statistically significant on the 5th postoperative day at indolency (89.3° vs. 74.5°, p < 0.001) with respect to maximum tolerable pain (105.8° vs. 87.4°, p < 0.001). The differences in the abduction angle on the 7th post operative day at indolency (97.5° vs. 81.2°, p < 0.001) and at maximum tolerable pain (118.5° vs. 93.4°, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. This statistically significant difference in the maximum abduction angle between group I and group II at indolency (116.1° vs. 91.5°) with respect to maximum tolerable pain (129.4° vs. 112.7°, p < 0.001) could be observed until discharge. Discussion: Acupuncture seems to be an effective treatment to relieve pain and improve arm-movements after ablation and axillary lymphadenectomy. The “Xie-technique” is used at the main acupuncture points and the patient’s feeling must be particularly considered. The combination of the different main points with the correctly selected additional acupuncture points - referred to the basic state and the pre-und post-operative state of the patient - are very important for a successful application of acupuncture.