Home → Treatment & Side Effects → Planning Your Treatment → Ask-the-Expert Conferences: Treatment Issues → May 2008: After Surgery: Short-term and Long-term Effects → Squeezing, pectoral pain after mastectomy?

Squeezing, pectoral pain after mastectomy?

Page last modified on: August 20, 2008

Question from JKO: Since mastectomy in 2006, I have muscle spasms in the pectoral muscle and pain along the incision area. I have lymphedema in my left arm and also truncal lymphedema. Also I have a constant squeezing like a boa constrictor squeezing under my ribcage area and it goes around my entire body. No one has been able to determine what causes the squeezing pressure, or the pectoral pain. Advice?: Answers —Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S.: At the time of mastectomy, the surgery extends down to the base of the breast, including the covering of the pectoralis muscle there. For many women, they notice increased sensitivity at the ribcage after mastectomy, particularly after implant placement. It's also common to see sensitivity at the rib with age with anyone. This is something called costochondritis.; Linda Miller, P.T.: Many women after reconstruction have had that tight chest wall feeling. A good stretching program that really stretches the pectoral muscles can give significant release.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called After Surgery: Short-term and Long-term Effects. Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. and Linda Miller, P.T. answered your questions about short-term and long-term side effects of breast surgery, and what you can do about them.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

A production of LiveWorld, Inc.
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Email Updates

Stay informed about current research, online events, and more.

Visit our Gift Shop!

Shop Now »

Meet the Experts

Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a breast surgeon and clinical instructor at the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Surgery in Philadelphia, PA. She also maintains a practice in Cherry Hill, N.J. Dr. Brill is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, she has published breast cancer research in medical journals such as Annals of Plastic Surgery and Cancer, and she has presented research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Linda Miller, P.T. is the clinical director of the Breast Cancer Physical Therapy Center, LTD, a private practice serving the Philadelphia, PA and southern New Jersey areas. Linda specializes in treating post-operative complications of breast cancer surgery, including lymphedema.