A novel treatment for postoperative mondor's disease: manual axial distraction

Mondor's disease is an uncommon complication of breast and axillary surgery. Although self-limiting, the subcutaneous cords may be both painful and functionally limiting for the patient. Numerous pharmacologic approaches have been tried, but without widespread success, and we wished to evaluate the non-invasive technique of manual axial distraction in such patients. Thirty consecutive patients with axillary Mondor's disease following surgery were treated solely with this technique by the senior author (RJS) over a 24-month period. Mean age was 45 years (range 32-72) with 27 having undergone formal axillary dissection and three sentinel node biopsy. 25 (83.3%) were successfully treated with a single procedure, three (10%) with two and two (6.7%) with three procedures. we present the initial results of the novel technique of manual axial distraction that has been found to be efficacious and without adverse effect. It provides a rapid and definitive cure in postoperative Mondor's disease.