Tuberculosis of the chest wall: unusual presentation as a breast lump.
A 33-year-old woman presented with a painless right breast lump of four weeks' duration. There were no symptoms such as fever or night sweats. Mammogram revealed an elliptical lesion in the retromammary region. Ultrasonography showed a hypoechoeic collection deep in the right breast. As the lesion was localised to the chest wall, computed tomography of the thorax was performed. This confirmed a fluid collection in the right anterior chest wall and also bilateral upper lobe consolidations, suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis with an abscess in the anterior chest wall. Ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy confirmed a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. It is unusual for a tuberculous abscess of the chest wall to present as a painless breast lump. We also present a companion case of tuberculous mastitis to illustrate their distinct imaging features.
Department of Oncologic Imaging, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 11 Hospital Drive, Singapore 169610. thteo76@gmail.com
T H P
TH
Teo
G H
GH
Ho
A
A
Chaturverdi
B K J
BK
Khoo
D000328:Adult; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D035441:Thoracic Wall / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014396:Tuberculosis, Pleural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography