Nursing Care For A Patient Who Had Breast Reconstruction

By Peter Henderson, MD

This nursing care plan comprises a diagnosis, a program of care for nurses, nursing interventions, and outcomes for the following problems for a patient who had undergone a mastectomy: Physically limited mobility and grief stemming from breast loss. Due to the loss of the pectoral muscle during the procedure, patients who have experienced a mastectomy have movement restrictions and may suffer grief due to the physical change.

Breast Reconstruction diagram

Describe the mastectomy. This surgical treatment is used to remove either one or both breasts. Sometimes everything is taken out, including the breast tissue, areolar, and nipple. The most frequent reason for a mastectomy is breast cancer.

The case scenario that follows is one that a nursing student or nurse working in a hospital could run into.

To provide an example of how a nurse (LPN or RN) could plan to treat a patient with specific problems, this care plan is provided.

Nurses discussing a patients records

Necessary Disclosure: Please remember that some of these therapies may change over time and that these care plans are just presented for illustration and educational reasons. This treatment plan should not be used to treat a patient.

Care plans are frequently created in a variety of formats. The formatting isn’t always crucial, and different nursing schools or medical occupations may have varying standards for care plans. Some hospitals could employ pre-made templates or present the data in digital format. The substance of the care plan is crucial since it serves as the cornerstone on which your treatment will be based.

Plan of Nursing Care for Mastectomy

Please watch the video below if you’d like to see a lesson on creating a care plan in nursing school. If not, scroll down to see this finished care plan.

Situation: 

A 45-year-old woman who underwent bilateral mastectomy is recuperating in your unit. Without assistance, the patient has trouble going from the bed to the chair. Mobility is a challenge for her because she cannot raise herself off the bed. She confides in you that she’s been sobbing and feeling down about how her spouse (to whom she recently got married) will view her physique after your morning evaluation and assisting the patient from bed to chair. She claims to “detest” and be ashamed of the appearance of her chest.

Nursing Diagnosis:

Impaired Physical Mobility as evidenced by the patient’s inability to rise from a chair alone and her inability to push herself up in bed. This is due to lymphedema, nerve and muscle damage, and discomfort.

The patient claims that she has been sobbing and is upset about her body’s look, which indicates grief connected to the loss of her breasts and changes to her appearance.

Subjective Data:

The patient confides in you that she has been sobbing and is becoming upset over how her husband—who she has just married—will view her physique after you helped her go from the bed to the chair during your morning evaluation. She claims to “detest” and be ashamed of the appearance of her chest.

Objective Data:

According to objective data, a 45-year-old woman who underwent a bilateral mastectomy is recovering on your unit. Without assistance, the patient has trouble going from the bed to the chair. Mobility is a challenge for her because she cannot raise herself off the bed.

Nurse checking vitals of a patient

Nursing Results:

Nursing interventions:

The nurse will check the patient’s comfort level daily in discussing a change in look. -Until the patient feels comfortable doing so, the nurse will urge the patient to discuss her new physical look with her husband.

Peter Henderson

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