Table 3.

Upper limb function of all patients who underwent major breast surgery

	Total (n = 44)				ALND (n = 15)				No ALND (n = 29)
	Baseline	Post-operative week 2	Post-operative week 6	p-value*	Baseline	Post-operative week 2	Post-operative week 6	p-value*	Baseline	Post-operative week 2	Post-operative week 6	p-value*
Shoulder flexion AROM+(°)	160 (150–170)	155 (150–165)	160 (146–170)	0.775	165 (150–170)	159 (153–170)	160 (145–170)	0.551	158 (148–166)	155 (149–160)	160 (148–170)	0.319
Shoulder abduction AROM+(°)	157 (150–171)	159 (143–169)	175 (155–180)	0.016	160 (152–173)	165 (146–171)	175 (170–180)	0.443	154 (147–165)	159 (143–165)	172 (155–180)	0.014
Pain score+#	1 (1–1)	1 (1–2)	1 (1–2)	0.054	1 (1–1)	2 (1–2)	1 (1–2)	0.102	1 (1–1)	1 (1–2)	1 (1–2)	0.198
Numbness score+#	1 (1–1)	1 (1–2)	1 (1–2)	0.072	1 (1–1)	2 (1–2)	2 (1–2)	0.166	1 (1–1)	1 (1–2)	1 (1–2)	0.248
QuickDASH disability score+	0 (0–4.03)	6.82 (2.27–13.64)	2.5 (0–8.52)	0.027	2.27 (0–2.5)	6.82 (2.27–15)	5.0 (2.27–9.09)	0.010	0 (0–5.0)	6.82 (2.27–13.64)	2.27 (0–6.82)	0.396

ALND Axillary lymph node dissection, AROM Active range of motion

⁺All of the study variables in this table are presented in median (IQR) unless otherwise specified

^*p-value is obtained by performing a Wilcoxon-signed rank test comparing baseline and post-operative week 6 values

^#Pain score and numbness score are components of the QuickDASH questionnaire ranging from 1 to 5, where 1 represents none, 2 represents mild, 3 represents moderate, 4 represents severe and 5 represents extreme