Dull Pain in left shoulder blade....sometimes into upper left arm

I had surgery about a year ago (Feb. '07)  to remove a tumor in my left breast.  Right after the surgery I experienced a dull pain deep in my left shoulder blade and also in my upper arm.  My arm felt "tired".  I was told there were alot of nerves that were cut in to so it would take time for this area to heal.  About 1 1/2 weeks ago the pain came back, this time will not go away.  The same dull ache deep in my left shoulder blade and also in my upper arm.  Sometimes my lower left arm feels tender and aches as well.  I have been taking muscle relaxers (skelatan (sp?) Motrin 800 MG even hyrdocodone....nothing works.  What could this be?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

It is true that small nerves do get compromised. You will have to continue taking the medication and add physical therapy to your treatment.

Did you have any infections of the operation area? You also need to ask you doctor about blood circulation problems in the arm and shoulder area.

Regards