Spivey TL, et al. - Considering the 20–30% of patients who had breast surgery and reported chronic pain as a complication, researchers prospectively examined surgical, demographic, and psychosocial factors associated with chronic pain 6 months after breast surgery. The baseline pain and psychosocial characteristics were assessed via analyzing validated questionnaires filled by patients undergoing breast surgery for benign and malignant disease preoperatively. They quantified pain at 6 months as the Pain Burden Index (PBI), which encompasses pain locations, severity, and frequency. Outcomes suggest that only axillary dissection (amongst surgical variables) was associated with greater pain at 6 months after surgery. Higher PBI was associated with patients characteristics such as lower age and higher BMI, as well as higher baseline anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing.