Breast Mass

If a dominant mass is found in the breast which persists through the menstrual cycle, it is usually biopsied, either through fine needle aspiration or excisional biopsy, depending on the clinical circumstances.

Suspicious masses (large, irregular, hard, fixed in place, with redness and dimpling of the overlying skin and nipple retraction) are usually biopsied right away.

Most masses are benign, but for those found to be malignant, earlier intervention is thought by many to lead to improved chances of successful treatment.

The patient on the right was a 36 year old woman at 16 weeks of pregnancy. She had found a breast mass and needle aspiration showed it to be a hemartoma. This was then excised under local anesthetic. Pathology confirmed it to be a benign hemartoma.