Armpit Pain

Dr Attai, Thanks for your answer. Having already tried Gabapenten and several similar drugs, and physical therapy, and acupuncture, I would be interested in what the "other treatments" were. Also I should have been a little more specific with my question. I really wanted to know if SURGICAL repair was possible. There are several types of pain that can occur after axillary / underarm surgery either performed with lumpectomy or mastectomy. The most common situation is numbness of the upper inner arm, armpit area, and the side of the chest wall. This is related to cutting or injury to the intercostobrachial nerve, which runs from the chest wall to the arm and provides for sensation. However cutting the entire or at least part of the nerve is part of most axillary dissection surgeries, and often the nerve is not one large "trunk", but several small branches that cannot be seen. Damage to this nerve is less common with a sentinel node biopsy but can still occur. Some women will experience a hypersensitivity in the first few weeks or months after the surgery in which even the slightest touch to the skin will result in severe pain. This usually resolves within a few weeks to a few months at the most. The numbness may gradually resolve or at least improve over time but every patient is different and this is not predictable.

In a few cases, severe persistent pain will occur. This is not common, but when it is present, it can be very difficult to treat. Gabapentin (neurontin) is sometimes used, along with physical therapy, acupuncture, and other treatments.