Literature reviews suggest neuropathic pain in 1/4-1/3 of post breast cancer surgery patient. A review of the effectiveness of neuropathic pain found only 23.7% achieved any significant relief from usual pyramid schemes of treatment for neuropathic pain
Severe Neuropathic Pain – Only 1/4 Respond to Standard Drug Protocols – What Else Is There? http://painmuse.org/?p=2640
Ilhan, Emre, et al.
The prevalence of neuropathic pain is high after treatment for breast cancer: a systematic review.
Pain 158.11 (2017): 2082-2091.
https://journals.lww.com/pain/Abstract/2017/11000/The_prevalence_of_neuropathic_pain_is_high_after.7.aspx
Nerves are cut during breast surgery and axillary node dissection: –
The Intercostobrachial Nerve(ICBN) -What is it and Why Can’t Breast Cancer Surgeons Deal Better With It? – and What Can You Do With It After. http://painmuse.org/?p=2280
They now know post breast surgery pain can be prevented by paravertebreal blocks during surgery:
Abdallah, Faraj W., et al.
Ultrasound-guided multilevel paravertebral blocks and total Intravenous anesthesia improve the quality of recovery after ambulatory breast tumor resection.
Anesthesiology: The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 120.3 (2014): 703-713.
http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/article.aspx?articleid=1917902&resultclick=1
I recently wrote about how neuropathic pain is the greatest challenge in pain control:
Neuropathic Treatment Failure -The Greatest Issue In Treatment of Chronic Pain http://painmuse.org/?p=6215
Comment – paravertebral blocks are not easy to set up so implementation will be few and women who suffer from nerve damage pain will be ignored. Not a pretty picture.