Why no sticks after mastectomy

[wannadowell]

Please can someone explain to me why needle sticks are dangerous to affected side after breast removal. I understand that we lose lymph nodes which interrupts the flow of lymph so no BP cuffs should go there. Why can't we draw blood from the veins? Is there simply a greater risk of infection because of irregular lymph drainage? I can't seem to work this out in my brain.

[MunoRN, RN]

There actually is no reason to avoid BP and lab draws on the side where a mastectomy has been done, none.

This comes from a time where mastectomies routinely included lymph node dissections, so the two were essentially synonymous. For at least the past decade, this has not been the case, and lymph node dissections should be considered a separate procedure. So the correct answer is that BP and lab draws are not in any way contraindicated in the case of mastectomy.

[AliNajaCat]

^^^Awesome. Excellent point. This could be a good'un to remember when that exam question comes around.

Read the descriptors... for example, many premenopausal women who have a hysterectomy do not experience surgical menopause. Why?

Because hysterectomy is only the removal of the uterus. If somebody has ovaries and tubes removed as well, that's either a TOTAL hysterectomy, or, more properly, a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.