Case Report

SUBAREOLAR BREAST ABSCESS: ADVANCED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FINDINGS

  • Gülnur Erdem
  • Burak Işık
  • Hakkı Muammer Karakaş
  • Ahmet Kemal Fırat

Received Date: 06.11.2007 Accepted Date: 16.02.2008 Eur J Breast Health 2008;4(3):174-177

Breast abscesses are generally seen in women in lactation period and located in the retroareolar and periareolar areas. Occasionally, subareolar abscesses may occur in young and middle aged women in non-lactation. Advanced imaging techniques may be needed to discriminate infl ammatory breast carcinomas from subareolar abscesses with high risk of recurrence. We detected multipl breast abscesses in 26 year-old woman in non-lactation period and presented the fi ndings of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, diff usion-weighted imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in addition to the fi ndings of ultrasonography and conventional magnetic resonance imaging. Although the diagnosis of breast lesions depends basically on clinical fi ndings, mammography and sonography fi ndings, the usefulness of advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques has been reported increasingly in diff erential diagnosis. This imaging techniques provide additional information to mammography and ultrasonography by bringing about non-invasive approaches.

Keywords: Subareolar breast abscess, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, diff usionweighted imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy