Breast reduction pathology?

EtherGirl

Have any of you wound up on this community after being incidentally diagnosed with BC from tissue after a breast reduction?

I am less than one week out from my elective breast reduction for heterogeneously dense breasts that have wreaked havoc on my back and neck. I have had multiple interval mammograms before for various issues, nipple leaking, lumpy bumpy, etc....all benign which I have taken solace because my breasts are so dense and it’s been a challenge to discern what’s new and what’s normal. My pre-op mammogram was “unchanged” from previous ones but I know with heterogenously dense breasts there is the risk of nefarious conditions that go undetected, but now that the issue is in the hands of a pathologist I wonder how often this situation arises?

MelissaDallas

Ethergirl, over the years out of thousands and thousands of posters I think I remember a couple, but to the best of my memory most had perviously had a diagnosis of some kind of atypia or something similar. I guess anything is possible, but probably not terribly likely. Hope all is okay with you

djmammo

EtherGirl

The majority of plastic surgeons I know always insist on a mammogram just before a reduction or augmentation is performed to make sure there is no visible problem and then anything removed goes to path just to make sure.

See this article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3915108/

EtherGirl

So, DJMammo, can I pick YOUR brain as no one else has ever heard of what happened to me immediately after my first mammogram post reduction this past Monday.

I experienced significant pain during it but sucked it up as they have always been tender. But the HIVES I had afterwards was insane. It was all over my chest, neck, breasts. I sent a pic of it to my BS who had never seen that before and I am now on a medrol dose pack. Have you ever heard of patients breaking out in red welts post mammogram? I would send a pic, but that is against the rules LOL it is impressive.

Second question my pathology from reduction (February) I didn't question but it did say periacinar chronic inflammation, fibrocystic change with acute focal inflammation. Focal stromal calcification. This was in bilateral breasts. I have seen your link regarding columnar cell changes but could never find anything about pericainar inflammation anywhere. What is your interpretation?

I am still waiting for mammogram results, but decided to see if you had heard of the hives post exam and since I had you here, pathology that I could not understand.

Happy New Year to you, thank you for your contribution to these forums.

djmammo

EtherGirl

I have never seen that but all i can think of is you had an allergic reaction to something on the compression plates or in the gown as these would be the only things that contacted your bare skin. It could be from something you ate too, not necessarily related to the mammogram.

I am not a pathologist but periacinar inflammation is not cancer, and I assume there are more than 2 reasons for inflammation in the breast (periacinar just referring to its location).

EtherGirl

Gotcha, thank you

djmammo

EtherGirl

Per protocol, those compression plates are thoughouhly cleaned between patients. It might be interesting to call and ask them what they use to clean them as that may be the offending agent.

EtherGirl

I will reach out to them and see if that was the culprit.
Thank yo