Objective  To study the effect of rehabilitation nursing measures on the functional recovery of the affected limb after radical mastectomy.

  Methods  A total of 120 patients who received radical mastectomy in our hospital were randomly divided into control group and observation group. Routine nursing was given to patients in the control group(n=60) and rehabilitation nursing was given to those in the observation group(n=60). The functional recovery of affected limbs(pronation, external rotation, forward bending, external extension and back extension and adduction angle), inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and complications of the two groups were compared before nursing and after 1 month of nursing.

  Results  Before nursing, there were no significant differences in the angles of internal rotation, external rotation, forward flexion, abduction, back extension and adduction angle between the two groups (P>0.05). After one month of nursing, the movement angles of the two groups was significantly increased, and the observation group was larger in movement angles than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Before nursing, there were no significant differences in the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 between the two groups (P>0.05), the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 in the two groups were significantly lower after treatment, and the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of skin flap necrosis, subcutaneous effusion and upper extremity edema in the observation group were significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Rehabilitation nursing measures can promote the recovery of limb function after radical mastectomy, significantly reduce the level of inflammatory factors, and reduce postoperative complications.