what causes chronic post mastectomy pain

During a mastectomy, some of the nerves in the chest must be severed. It’s likely that postmastectomy pain syndrome is the result of nerve damage.

Post-mastectomy pain is often neuropathic, meaning it is usually caused by nerve damage. Most researchers assume post-mastectomy pain is caused by damage to the nerves in the breast and underarm area or the development of a neuroma (an abnormal nerve tissue growth).