Ultrasonography Screening for Breast Lesions During Pregnancy and Lactation

Overview

All breast disorders found during pregnancy and lactation should be carefully evaluated. Most of them are benign e.g., lactating adenoma, galactocele, fibroadenoma or inflammatory disorders e.g., mastitis, abscess formation, granulomatous mastitis, but it is essential to exclude pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC), which is too often diagnosed late Ultrasound is the first line breast imaging technique during pregnancy and lactation as Development of alveoli during pregnancy might not occur symmetrically, and these can be felt as focal nodularities, or even feel similar to masses, any suspicion of a mass should be assessed with US . If US illustrates glandular tissue and this correlates with the examiner presumption, no further work-up needs to be done. However, if presence of a mass is highly assumed, further follow-up by mammography, MRI and biopsy, when necessary, must be performed

Conditions

Interventions