Summary
The development of persistent post-operative pain after implant placement for aesthetic
or reconstructive breast surgery can lead to significant patient morbidity. Although
there are many etiologies for post-operative pain, the diagnosis of an intercostal
neuroma is important as this can be treated surgically. We describe three cases of
an intercostal neuroma in patients with breast implants. A Tinel’s sign can be elicited
along the lateral chest wall and a local anesthetic block temporarily alleviates this
pain. Surgical management with identification and clipping of the intercostal neuroma
and burying into the underlying muscle significantly decreases post-operative pain
long term. In patients with persistent pain after breast implant placement, plastic
surgeons must be aware of this treatable cause of pain.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic SurgeryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Breast pain after breast conserving therapy.Breast. 1994; : 3151-3154
- Pain after breast surgery: a survey of 282 women.Pain. 1996; 66: 195-205
- Chronic postoperative breast pain: danger zones for nerve injuries.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2011; 127: 41-46
- Outcomes of surgical treatment for chronic postoperative breast and abdominal pain attributed to intercostal nerve.J Am Coll Surg. 2006; 203: 304-310
- Intercostal neuromas: a treatable cause of postoperative breast surgery pain.Ann Plast Surg. 2001; 46: 481-484
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 30, 2012
Accepted:
April 2,
2012
Received:
October 8,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
