title: Macromastia: a risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a cohort of women with macromastia and to assess the evolution of the CTS signs and symptoms after breast surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A series of 123 women was evaluated. CTS was defined by co-existence of symptoms, two physical findings and electrophysiological evaluation. One year after reduction mammaplasty, the 22 patients who had been diagnosed CTS were re-evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CTS group of women had a mean age of 38.8 years, mean body mass index of 28.5 kg/m(2) and mean breast size of 35.9 cm. Age and nipple-to-sternal notch distance were statistically significantly associated with CTS (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). A year after surgery 15 patients were re-assessed: nine patients reported absence or improvement of CTS symptoms while six patients reported symptoms persistence or worsening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age, breast size, but not body mass index, have a positive correlation with the CTS.
authors.affiliation: Plastic Surgery Department, S. José Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal. anacristinacardososilva@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ana Silva
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Carlos Marques
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Videira e Castro
authors.forename: Maria Angélica
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Almeida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001940:Breast / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D015994:Incidence; D016462:Mammaplasty / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult