AB091. SOH25_AB_182. Effect of shoulder prehabilitation on outcomes following axillary lymph node clearance or sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients: a single-centre non-randomized cohort study
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AB091. SOH25_AB_182. Effect of shoulder prehabilitation on outcomes following axillary lymph node clearance or sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients: a single-centre non-randomized cohort study

Kathryn McKnight1, Emma O’Donoghue2, Samher Jassim3, Anne Merrigan4, Shona Tormey4, Juliette Buckley4, Chwanrow Baban4, Meghan O’Mahony2

1Department of Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland; 2Physiotherapy Department, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; 3Department of Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; 4Department of Breast Surgery, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, accounting for over one quarter of new female cancer diagnoses. Surgical intervention is a cornerstone of breast cancer treatment. Whilst highly effective at disease control, surgery has physical and psychosocial impacts postoperatively, namely in the form of shoulder-arm complications. ‘Prehabilitation’ has gained momentum as of late attributed to its potential to promote patient recovery and improve patient outcomes.

Methods: A prospective single-centre non-randomised cohort study involving implementation of a targeted shoulder exercise prehabilitation programme for a minimum of 7 days preoperatively in individuals undergoing axillary lymph node clearance (ALNC) or sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for breast cancer.

Results: A total of 55 participants were recruited thirty-three intervention and twenty-four control, ages ranging from 35–84 years old. No significant difference with respect to range of motion (ROM) was noted preoperatively between groups. Differences in ROM preoperatively to postoperatively were comparable between groups; flexion and abduction appeared to be the most impacted postoperatively. Significantly higher levels of pain and disability were reported postoperatively in the control group.

Conclusions: The anticipated increase in breast cancer cases in the years to come requires clinicians to identify interventions that maximises an individual’s postoperative outcome by capitalizing on their preoperative status. Prehabilitation provides surgeons with the potential to improve postoperative recovery and surgical morbidity.

Keywords: Breast cancer surgery; breast cancer morbidity; prehabilitation; preoperative exercise; shoulder prehabilitation

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-25-ab091
Cite this abstract as: McKnight K, O’Donoghue E, Jassim S, Merrigan A, Tormey S, Buckley J, Baban C, O’Mahony M. AB091. SOH25_AB_182. Effect of shoulder prehabilitation on outcomes following axillary lymph node clearance or sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients: a single-centre non-randomized cohort study. Mesentery Peritoneum 2025;9:AB091.

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