What Is Axillary Web Syndrome?
Also called "cording," this condition can be a side effect of surgery for breast cancer.
By Elaine K. Howley, Contributor |Oct. 5, 2017, at 9:42 a.m.
What Is Axillary Web Syndrome?
The American Cancer Society reports that surgery to remove a cancerous tumor is prescribed in 95 percent of early stage breast cancers and more than 70 percent of advanced stage breast cancers. This surgery is performed as a lumpectomy (in which the tumor and a narrow perimeter of healthy cells are removed while the rest of the breast is conserved) or a mastectomy (in which the entire breast is removed). These surgeries are typically accompanied by the removal of some or all of the lymph nodes from the underarm or axilla region in either a sentinel node biopsy or an axillary lymph node dissection. By removing these lymph nodes, the pathologist can determine whether cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, which can help determine the stage and best treatment approaches to deal with the cancer.
https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2017-10-05/what-is-axillary-web-syndrome
