Table 1 Characteristics of the study population (N = 111)
| Â | Axillary web syndrome | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
No (N = 79) | Yes (N = 32) | N = 111 | |
Characteristics | |||
Age at surgery, n (%) | |||
 - < 50 years | 12 (15.2) | 12 (37.5) | 24 (21.6) |
 - > =50 years | 67 (84.8) | 20 (62.5) | 87 (78.4) |
Ethnicity, n (%) | |||
 - Chinese | 73 (92.4) | 27 (84.4) | 100 (90.1) |
 - Malay | 5 (6.3) | 4 (12.5) | 9 (8.1) |
 - Indian | 1 (1.3) | 1 (3.1) | 2 (1.8) |
Duration post surgery, n (%) | |||
 - 1 year | 32 (40.5) | 16 (50.0) | 48 (43.2) |
 - 2 years | 35 (44.3) | 14 (43.8) | 49 (44.1) |
 - 3 years | 12 (15.2) | 2 (6.3) | 14 (12.6) |
Affected upper extremity, n (%) | |||
 - Left | 31 (39.2) | 15 (46.9) | 46 (41.4) |
 - Right | 48 (60.8) | 17 (53.1) | 65 (58.6) |
Type of breast cancer surgery, n (%) | |||
 - Breast conserving surgery | 23 (29.1) | 9 (28.1) | 32 (28.8) |
 - Simple mastectomy | 47 (59.5) | 17 (53.1) | 64 (57.7) |
 - Simple mastectomy with reconstruction | 9 (11.4) | 6 (18.8) | 15 (13.5) |
Axillary procedure, n (%) | |||
 - SLNB | 43 (54.4) | 7 (21.9) | 50 (45.0) |
 - ALND | 36 (45.6) | 25 (78.1) | 61 (55.0) |
Adjunctive therapy, n (%) | |||
 - Chemotherapy | 58 (73.4) | 25 (78.1) | 83 (74.8) |
 - Radiotherapy | 47 (59.5) | 23 (71.9) | 70 (63.1) |
Stage of cancer, n (%) | |||
 - I | 37 (46.8) | 8 (25.0) | 45 (40.5) |
 - II | 38 (48.1) | 20 (62.5) | 58 (52.3) |
 - III | 4 (5.1) | 4 (12.5) | 8 (7.2) |
Presence of arm pain, n (%) | 25 (31.6) | 18 (56.3) | 39 (35.1) |
Presence of lymphedema, n (%) | 22 (27.8) | 11 (34.4) | 33 (29.7) |
Flexion active ROM (degrees), mean (SD) | 159.7 (5.21) | 143.8 (23.2) | 152.8 (17.5) |
Abduction active ROM (degrees), mean (SD) | 146.9 (25.6) | 133.9 (30.0) | 141.2 (28.1) |
External rotation active ROM (degrees), mean (SD) | 53.0 (8.50) | 50.9 (7.11) | 52.1 (7.91) |