TY - JOUR
T1 - Postsurgical changes of the breast that mimic inflammatory breast carcinoma
AU - Loprinzi, Charles L.
AU - Okuno, Scott H.
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - • Objective: To characterize a clinical syndrome that occurs in some women who have undergone breast or axillary lymph node biopsy or partial mastectomy. • Material and Methods: Six case reports are presented, the clinical and histopathologic findings are described, and the implications for recognition of this entity are discussed. • Results: Patients who had undergone partial mastectomy, breast biopsy, or axillary lymph node excision shortly thereafter had clinical signs (most notably, erythema and edema) suggestive of infectious mastitis or inflammatory breast cancer. Representative histologie sections of involved skin revealed di-lated dermal vessels without specific evidence of infection or cancer. Although antibiotic therapy was generally ineffective, the clinical findings resolved with time (from 2 months to 1 year). This condition should be considered in the differential diagnosis when this circumscribed patient population has such intervention-related symptoms. • Conclusion: This clinical syndrome may mimic an infectious or neoplastic process, but we hypothesize that it is due to interruption of lymphatic vessels. Appropriate recognition may alter the use of antibiotic therapy or surgical intervention.
AB - • Objective: To characterize a clinical syndrome that occurs in some women who have undergone breast or axillary lymph node biopsy or partial mastectomy. • Material and Methods: Six case reports are presented, the clinical and histopathologic findings are described, and the implications for recognition of this entity are discussed. • Results: Patients who had undergone partial mastectomy, breast biopsy, or axillary lymph node excision shortly thereafter had clinical signs (most notably, erythema and edema) suggestive of infectious mastitis or inflammatory breast cancer. Representative histologie sections of involved skin revealed di-lated dermal vessels without specific evidence of infection or cancer. Although antibiotic therapy was generally ineffective, the clinical findings resolved with time (from 2 months to 1 year). This condition should be considered in the differential diagnosis when this circumscribed patient population has such intervention-related symptoms. • Conclusion: This clinical syndrome may mimic an infectious or neoplastic process, but we hypothesize that it is due to interruption of lymphatic vessels. Appropriate recognition may alter the use of antibiotic therapy or surgical intervention.
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U2 - 10.4065/71.6.552
DO - 10.4065/71.6.552
M3 - Article
C2 - 8642883
AN - SCOPUS:0030317437
SN - 0025-6196
VL - 71
SP - 552
EP - 555
JO - Mayo Clinic proceedings
JF - Mayo Clinic proceedings
IS - 6
ER -