Myofascial Pain Patterns and Dysfunction of Lower Extremities: with Latissimus Dorsi - Dissertation Example

Latissimus dorsi (LD) flap procedure is one of the most common techniques used in breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. Even though this particular breast reconstruction technique is fairly safe, some of the postoperative breast cancer patients who had mastectomy and LD flap breast reconstruction are complaining about myofascial pain and lower extremities dysfunction.

Up to the present time, there is no existing research study that has tried to discuss and identify the main factors that cause myofascial pain and lower extremities dysfunction after going through LD flap breast reconstruction. To conduct a narrative literature review, several journals and academic books were used to analyze the anatomical and physiological explanation behind these two common complaints.

Anesthesia-related nerve injury is highly preventable. Therefore, this study highly recommends that aesthetic surgeons should openly communicate with the anaesthesiologists on how they can effectively avoid anesthesia-related nerve injury. Paresthesia is not always effective in terms of warning anesthesiologists of nerve injury. Therefore, hospitals and clinics should provide ultrasound imaging to assist the anesthesiologists when injecting anesthesia on patients.

In the UK, the Breast Cancer Care organization reported that approximately 50,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer and that 24% of them each year. Because of the continuous improvements in the treatment of breast cancer patients, the mortality rate associated with this particular disease has been declining since the last quarter of 1988 (Office for National Statistics, 2011). Today, around 550,000 individuals who live in the UK are breast cancer patients (Breast Cancer Care, 2012). (See Appendix I – Summary of Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rate in the UK as of 2009 on page 40)

In general, the type of breast cancer found among pre-menopausal women is more aggressive as compared to the type of breast cancer found among menopausal women. For this reason, patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer during their 50s and 60s have higher survival rates as compared to women who were diagnosed with the said disease at a much younger age (Chia et al., 2004; Matthew, Rajan, & Pandey, 2004).

Among the common treatment for breast cancer, patients include chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, radiotherapy, and surgery (Silberman & Silberman, 2009, p. 262). In almost all cases, the process of coping with these treatments is very stressful on the part of breast cancer patients.