The evaluation of contralateral breast lesions in breast cancer patients using reduction mammoplasty.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the importance of routine pathological examination of contralateral breast specimens in breast cancer patients using reduction mammoplasty.


METHODS
The weight of breast tissue resected from the contralateral breast in 71 patients and the number of slices used for pathological evaluation were recorded. Breast lesions found in the contralateral breast and accompanying lesions with tumors were examined.


RESULTS
High risk proliferative lesions were reported in the contralateral breast of eight (11.2%) patients, and low-risk lesions were detected in 18 (25%). While the mean age of the patients with high-risk lesions was 45.6, it was 52.8 for the other patients (p=0.036).


CONCLUSIONS
Bilateral reduction mammoplasty may be beneficial to delineate some pathologies in contralateral breasts even in those patients with normal clinical and radiological findings. The incidental discovery of these pathologies is much more likely in young breast cancer patients.
Department of Surgery, Ankara Oncology Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Lutfi
L
Dogan
Mehmet Ali
MA
Gulcelik
Melda
M
Bulut
Niyazi
N
Karaman
Gamze
G
Kiziltan
Cihangir
C
Ozaslan