Surgery induced immunosuppression.

Surgery and anaesthesia result in a variety of metabolic and endocrine responses, which result in a generalised state of immunosuppression in the immediate post-operative period. Surgery induced immunosuppression has been implicated in the development of post-operative septic complications and tumour metastasis formation. In addition the effectiveness of many treatments in the adjuvant setting is dependent on a functioning immune system.

Perioperative reductions in circulating lymphocyte levels predict wound complications after excisional breast cancer surgery.

Objective: Postoperative wound complications after excisional surgery for primary breast cancer can result in patients requiring additional treatments and delay adjuvant therapy and are associated with worse prognoses.We investigated factors that might predispose patients to wound complications.

Background: A number of patient characteristics have been associated with wound complications, but there is currently no quantitative measure of the risk of their occurrence.