Corticosteroid treatment in the management of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis to avoid unnecessary surgery.

PURPOSE: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare benign inflammatory disease of the breast. It can mimic breast carcinoma clinically and radiologically, and usually affects females of childbearing age. There is no commonly accepted optimal treatment for IGM. In this study, we present the clinical and histopathological features and outcomes of the therapeutic management of IGM, as well as the clinical course of the disease when patients were treated with oral corticosteroids. METHODS: This retrospective study included 49 of 87 patients who met the required histological criteria for IGM who were followed up between January 2009 and December 2011. All patients had a disease-free follow-up period of at least 6 months. The data regarding the clinical features at presentation, laboratory values and the treatment modalities were obtained from the medical records of the patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 34.3 ± 4.37 years. Forty patients were treated with prednisolone, five were started on antituberculosis treatment, two received non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, one received antibiotics and one underwent wide excision. All patients who received steroids responded well to the therapy. CONCLUSION: Systemic therapy with corticosteroids is an effective and appropriate treatment option for IGM. It can provide complete disease resolution and prevent recurrence in the long term. A multidisciplinary approach including specialists in the fields of both general surgery and infectious diseases is essential for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of IGM.

Radio-guided localization of clinically occult breast lesions: current modalities and future directions.

The extensive availability of breast cancer screening programs and improvement in diagnostic imaging have led to more frequent detection of suspicious and clinically occult breast lesions. Early detection of tumor is important for breast-conserving treatment. Incomplete excision is a major risk factor for local recurrence. Following precise localization and removing the entire lesion while achieving adequate clear margins is the key factor for successful management of non-palpable breast lesions. For this purpose, several techniques such as wire-guided localization, intra-operative ultrasound guided resection, radio-guided occult lesion localization and radioactive seed localization have been described and applied. In this article, we overview the two commonly used localization techniques, radio-guided occult lesion localization and wire-guided localization, particularly describing their advantages and drawbacks.

Excision of Nonpalpable Breast Cancer with Indocyanine Green Fluorescence-Guided Occult Lesion Localization (IFOLL).

BACKGROUND: Currently employed techniques for the localization of nonpalpable breast lesions suffer from various limitations. In this paper, we report on 2 patients in order to introduce an alternative technique, indocyanine green fluorescence-guided occult lesion localization (IFOLL), and determine its applicability for the surgical removal of this type of breast lesions. CASE REPORTS: Preoperatively, one of the patients had a needle biopsy-proven diagnosis of breast cancer, and the other one had suspicious findings for malignancy. Lesion localization was performed within 1 h before surgery under ultrasonography control by injecting 2 ml and 0.2 ml of indocyanine green into the lesion and its subcutaneous tissue projection, respectively. During surgery, the site of skin incision and the resection margins were identified by observing the area of indocyanine-derived fluorescence under the guidance of a near-infrared-sensitive camera. In both cases, the breast lesion was correctly localized, and the area of fluorescence corresponded well to the site of the lesions. Subsequent surgical excision was successful with no complications. On histopathologic examination, the surgical margins were found to be clear. CONCLUSION: IFOLL seems to be a technically applicable and clinically acceptable procedure for the removal of nonpalpable breast cancer.

Abnormalities in the cerebral arterial system in osteogenesis imperfecta.

A 9-year-old girl with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type 4 was admitted to the hospital because of choreatic movement. Cerebral angiography demonstrated bilateral symmetrical stenosis of the proximal cavernous segment of internal carotid artery, prethrombotic occlusion of the M1 segment of left middle cerebral artery, and moyamoya-like collateral vascular structure arising from the right lenticulostriate arteries. After a literature review, these findings were interpreted as vasculopathic changes secondary to vascular fragility caused by the collagen abnormality in OI.