What to do if my arm becomes edematous one year after breast cancer surgery

The specific treatment of arm edema one year after breast cancer surgery depends on the cause. It may be caused by urticaria, restricted lymphatic return, upper limb lymphedema, hypoproteinemia, tumor recurrence, etc. Patients can take general treatment, drug treatment, surgery and other methods under the guidance of doctors. The specific analysis is as follows:

1. Urticaria: It is generally related to allergies. When it occurs, there will be large wheals. The wheals are relatively large and may cause the arms to look like edema. It has nothing to do with the primary disease or surgery. Antihistamines should be taken under the guidance of a professional physician, such as cetirizine hydrochloride tablets, levocetirizine hydrochloride tablets, and loratadine hydrochloride tablets.

2. Restricted lymphatic return: This is mainly caused by long-term compression of the lymphatic vessels. Generally, no special treatment is required. You can do appropriate exercise to promote lymphatic return.

3. Lymphedema of the upper limbs: Most of the time it is caused by obstruction of lymphatic return and long-term lack of relief. It can usually be treated with pressure bandages, artificial lymphatic drainage, functional exercises, etc.

4. Hypoproteinemia: Most of the time it is caused by long-term malnutrition after surgery. First of all, you need to adjust your diet. If the edema is more severe, you can intravenously inject serum albumin, recombinant human growth hormone, high-branched-chain amino acids and other drugs under the guidance of a professional physician.

5. Tumor recurrence: It is considered that the surgery did not completely remove the lesion. Cancer cells can easily affect the surrounding normal tissues, which may cause arm edema. If the disease is in the early stage, surgical resection is required. If it has entered the middle and late stages, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drug treatment are required according to the doctor's advice.

There are many reasons for arm edema one year after breast cancer surgery, and the treatment methods are also different. Patients should go to the hospital for relevant examinations in time and receive treatment according to the cause.