title: Synchronous, bilateral mastectomy.
abstract: Sixty-four patients (mean age, 51 years) had mastectomies which were synchronous and bilateral. Sixty-one premastectomy biopsies (bilateral, 34 and unilateral, 27) demonstrated the following: invasive carcinoma, 17; noninvasive carcinoma, 24; combination of above, 10; and benign disease, 10. Twenty-two patients had bilateral mastectomy because of bilateral positive biopsy. Twenty-nine patients with unilateral carcinoma on biopsy had bilateral mastectomy. Thirteen patients had bilateral mastectomy despite benign disease only on biopsy (10) or no biopsy (3). Ten unexpected carcinomas (34%) were found in the contralateral breast in the 29 patients with carcinoma diagnosed on unilateral biopsy. The biopsy pathology of these 10 specimens was invasive ductal carcinoma in 1 and multifocal, noninvasive carcinoma (ductal, 3 and lobular, 6) in 9. An unexpected carcinoma may be found in the contralateral breast in a significant number of patients who are selected for bilateral mastectomy, particularly if the selection is on the basis of a noninvasive, lobular histology. Bilateral mastectomy may be appropriate for such patients, particularly when complicated by a strong family history and breasts which are difficult to assess by physical or mammographic examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Staren
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Economou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods*; D015411:Mastectomy, Modified Radical; D015409:Mastectomy, Radical; D015414:Mastectomy, Subcutaneous; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies