title: Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis: Comparison of Wide Local Excision with or without Corticosteroid Therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is an uncommon chronic inflammatory disease of the breast with uncertain optimal treatment regimen. In this study, our purpose was to report our clinical experience with 74 IGM patients who were treated wide local excision with or without steroid therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  74 cases diagnosed histologically as IGM were identified from surgical and pathological records between January 1995 and January 2012. Group 1 (surgery-only group) comprised 53 patients, and the 21 patients in group 2 were treated with corticosteroids prior to surgical treatment (steroid-and-surgery group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Follow-up data were complete for 67 (91.7%) of the 73 patients. Recurrence developed in 4 (7.5%) patients in the surgery-only group, while there was no recurrence in the steroid-and-surgery group; the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Systemic steroid therapy with surgical resection is the recommended first-line treatment strategy for IGM.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akcan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: A Bahadir
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Oz
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hülya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akgün
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muhammet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akyüz
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ok
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gök
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tutkun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Talih
keywords: Corticosteroid therapy; Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis; Wide excision