Introduction:

Breast cancer is a degenerative chronic illness which forces women to go through diverse treatments which often include surgery and its related postoperatory complications.

Objective:

To identify the prevalence of postoperatory complications among women with breast cancer treated in a tertiary healthcare institution.

Methods and Materials:

This is an observational, transversal, and retrolective. The units of analysis were the records on women who underwent breast cancer related surgery in the year 2015. The convenience sample included 52 corresponding cases. Data were collected through a specific form and processed with SPSS v.24.

Results:

42% of women showed some type of surgical complication. From these, 27% suffered wound dehiscences, 23% pain, and 23% infections. These complications appeared within 40 days after being discharged. Also, 23% suffered lymphedema, and 4% seroma, after 4 months of the surgery.

Discussion:

A 25% to 42% prevalence of complications derived from breast cancer surgical treatments has been evidenced.

Conclusions:

Postoperatory complications are expected, but also preventable. Because of this, it is necessary that health professionals develop strategies aimed at addressing this situation by identifying the modifiable risk factors.