[Painful shoulder syndrome with drooping after cervical lymphatic dissection]

A study was made of 12 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent surgical neck dissection in 1993 to evaluate quantitatively the degree of postoperative shoulder dysfunction after surgical neck dissection. Nerve conduction studies were made of the accessory nerve and the range of motion, strength and position of the shoulder were evaluated. Patients were invited to complete a questionnaire about daily living activities, shoulder pain, shoulder movement and shoulder droop. Our results showed that abnormalities can be found in shoulder and arm function after any type of neck dissection and that these are evident when the accessory nerve is damaged. Subjective questionnaire findings generally coincided with objective postoperative dysfunction.