2020 Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 40-47
In this study, we investigated the changes in the shoulder range of motion, body composition, and quality of life of a patient who underwent breast cancer surgery, and who had received rehabilitation during hospitalization and of exercise guidance at home. The patient was a 40-year-old female with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy with lymph node dissection at our hospital. The range of motion of the patient's shoulder flexion and abduction was reduced one week and one month post-surgery, but had improved by two months following surgery. The patient's body fat mass and body fat percentage tended to increase until two-months after her discharge. Her upper-limb muscle mass on the operative side showed a decrease at one-month postoperatively compared with one week postoperatively. An improvement in upper-limb muscle mass on the operative side was observed at two months postoperatively, although it remained lower than the mass at one week postoperatively. In terms of the patient's quality of life, no items on the symptom scales had improved after two months. Therefore, in addition to monitoring upper-limb function, the rehabilitation of patients following breast cancer surgery requires the evaluation of body composition and quality of life, and interventions to improve these factors.
