CORRELATIVE STUDY BETWEEN ULTRASOUND AND MRI IN EVALUATION OF POST OPERATIVE FINDINGS FOLLOWING SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF MALIGNANT BREAST LESIONS

Abstract

Breast cancer is not only a leading cause of death among women but also carries a high risk of recurrence. Early diagnosis increased the need for conservative breast surgery. Women with a history of breast cancer are at risk for developing local recurrences, a second ipsilat¬eral breast cancer, or contralateral breast cancer. The incidence of local recurrence is between 1 and 2% per year, with most of the recurrences occurring in the first 5 years. Early detection of local recurrence can improve patients’ survival. This can be attributed by means of close clinical and imaging follow-up which is considered an important component of a breast-conserving strategy. Many benign changes can be noticed in the post operative breast as {resolving edema, fat necrosis, a small focal area of non-mass like enhancement (NMLE), and thin linear NMLE at the lumpectomy site} all of which are expected findings. Yet recurrence is not an exception. Thus it is mandatory to identify imaging findings that are benign or expected for short-interval imaging follow up in order to minimize unnec¬essary intervention, as well as to appropriately pick up suspicious lesions aiming for proper diagnosis and in turn management of malignant cases. Ultrasound and MRI have become a common practice in the assessment of the post operative breast. In our study we tried to assess the role of US and MRI in evaluating breast cancer patients who underwent surgery and radiotherapy. Thirty female patients were included in this study. All cases underwent either CBT or radical mastectomy before doing their MRI. All cases were suspected for either recurrence or post-operative complication by clinical examination. Breast US were done for all patients then followed by MRI examination.

Conclusion