Introduction:
Patients experience muscle, joint and shoulder pain after heart surgery. We aimed to compare quality of life in 2 groups of patients, one group having an internal mammary artery (IMA) retractor during surgery, the second group undergoing non-coronary heart surgery.

Material and methods:
Group 1 was composed of 39 patients receiving an IMA retractor whereas in group 2 there were 29 patients. Patients in groups were compared for postoperative quality of life, shoulder pain, functional status, strength and patient satisfaction.

Results:
Visual analog scale (VAS) assessment, pain localization, quality of life SF-36 form, and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) functional shoulder scoring were applied in both groups. Mean VAS score in group 1 was significantly higher than in group 2. Only the vitality measure mean score was not significantly different in SF-36 assessment; however, in group 2 physical function and mental health scale mean scores were higher and the pain scale mean score was lower than in group 1. The total UCLA score and UCLA subgroups of pain, function, active flexion angle and strength revealed a statistically significant difference between groups.

Conclusions:
Patients in whom an IMA retractor was not utilized during surgery exhibited better results in physical functions, emotional status, and shoulder pain in the postoperative period.