Nodular formations of the mammary glands in medicine are also called focal. They are seals formed by glandular and fibrous tissue. Nodular neoplasms usually have a certain localization and clear contours. The most common is the round shape of the nodules. Seals in the mammary glands in women are also movable or fused to nearby tissues. They often deliver discomfort to the patient.
Kinds
Most often, nodular formations of the mammary glands are observed on one side - in the right or left chest. Three pathological processes are known that contribute to the formation of focal seals - lipoma, fibroadenoma and cystic mastopathy. Each of these diseases has distinctive features. They are diagnosed and treated differently.
Fibroadenoma
Many are interested in the size of the breast fibroadenoma for surgery. We will deal with this issue in more detail.
Fibroadenoma is a nodular formation of the breast with fuzzy contours. This is a type of nodular mastopathy, affecting, as a rule, one of the mammary glands. Often the development of this disease becomes a consequence of the occurrence of hormonal failure in a woman's body. Fibroadenoma reaches up to 7 cm in diameter. Moreover, the formation is not associated with subcutaneous tissue and skin and is benign. If a seal is detected in the mammary glands, women should undergo a high-quality diagnosis, consult a mammologist, and pass tests. To find out if this tumor is malignant, such a diagnostic method as histology helps. A piece of pathological tissue is taken for examination and a biopsy is performed.
Neoplasm sizes
Let's talk about the size of breast fibroadenoma for surgery. If the neoplasm is not more than 8 mm, then treatment begins with traditional methods: the use of hormonal medications, the use of folk remedies. Conservative methods of therapy are used for 6 months with constant monitoring of the state of education using ultrasound.
If the doctor notices that the nodular formation of the mammary glands has increased in size, an operation may be prescribed, which involves the removal of the pathological focus. The absolute indication for the intervention is the rapid growth of the tumor, the likelihood of transformation into an oncological tumor and pregnancy planning. Large sizes of fibroadenomas are considered to be nodes larger than 2 cm in diameter. Most often, they lead to a change in the shape of the gland.
Fibroadenoma is classified into several types:
- leaf-shaped;
- pericanalicular;
- intracanalicular;
- involutive.
Lipoma
This is a benign neoplasm in the mammary gland, formed due to excessive growth of adipose tissue. Such a seal looks like a capsule. It is not painful, but is characterized by softness and mobility. Lipoma in size reaches 2 cm, but in some cases it can increase to 10 cm in diameter. Such a large formation in the mammary gland begins to squeeze the surrounding tissue and cause pain.
Causes of lipoma
The causes of lipoma formation are:
- violation of metabolic processes;
- hereditary predisposition;
- blockage of the duct of the sebaceous glands;
- accumulation of toxins in the body.
Cases of degeneration of such a node into a malignant tumor are quite rare, but there is probably one. Surgical intervention in this case is necessary if the formation has greatly increased in size and deformed the chest, as well as with the development of pain. The operation is also carried out in cases where the lipoma affects other tissues and organs. Typically, small lipomas are removed under local anesthesia. With large nodular formations of the mammary glands, general anesthesia is used.
Intraductal papilloma
These nodal formations of the chest are also called papillary cystadenomas or cystadenopapillomas. They are papillary benign outgrowths developing from the epithelium of the ducts of the gland. Pathology can occur at any age. Macroscopically, such neoplasms resemble cystic balls with papillary growths. Papilloma is easy to injure, while the bloody fluid released from it penetrates the excretory ducts and begins to stand out. In the area of this tumor, necrosis and hemorrhage are possible. Multiple breast formations of this variety are most often malignant.
A factor leading to the appearance of intraductal papillomas is hormonal imbalance. The development of papillomas can be triggered by any changes in the level of hormones: oophoritis, ovarian dysfunction, adnexitis, obesity, abortion, stress, etc. Smoking and nulliparous women are at risk. To a lesser extent, the development of such neoplasms affects patients who are breast-feeding, having children, and using hormonal contraception.
Papillary cystadenomas occur against the background of fibrocystic (diffuse or nodular) mastopathy. Due to the development of this disease, there is a local expansion of the ducts of the gland, in which papillary growths develop. The first clinical symptoms of intraductal papilloma include the appearance of discharge from the nipple. They can be white, transparent, greenish, brown in color and contain blood impurities.
You can feel the papilloma only when it is located in the main duct. In this case, upon palpation in the areola area, a round knot of soft consistency is felt, painful when pressed.
Surgery for intraductal papilloma of the mammary gland is considered the most effective method of therapy.
Cystic mastopathy
This neoplasm is a capsule filled with liquid. Cysts can be single or multiple. Such a neoplasm provokes frequent stresses, hormonal disruptions, which are characterized by an increase in estrogen levels in the body. Pain most often bothers a woman before starting menstruation, due to an increase in progesterone levels and the resulting fluid retention. In this case, a colostrum-like liquid with impurities of pus or blood can be released from the nipples. The disease in most cases develops after menopause, however, nulliparous and smokers, patients with a genetic predisposition, and a history of multiple abortions are also at risk. The disease can also occur with improperly selected treatment with hormonal drugs, pathologies of the endocrine glands and liver.
If the breast cyst is small, it usually does without surgery. The patient is prescribed vitamin and iodine-containing drugs, a diet, some hormonal therapy.
The treatment is carried out for a long time, under the supervision of a doctor. If after its end a positive result is not observed, the specialist can recommend surgical removal of the neoplasm.
Breast mastitis in non-nursing
Non-lactational mastitis is an inflammatory pathology of the mammary gland that occurs in women outside the lactation process. The causes of this disease are injuries, infections, chronic diseases of other systems and organs. This ailment is not a nodal one, however, during its course in the mammary gland focal changes resembling nodules can be observed.
Mastitis in non-breastfeeding women occurs for several reasons:
- menopause, during which a hormonal disorder occurs;
- chest injuries;
- complications after surgery;
- decreased immunity;
- avitaminosis;
- metabolic disorders;
- infectious lesion.
Most often, non-lactational type mastitis occurs in women after 35 years. At risk are patients with endocrine disorders, as well as those who abuse alcohol and smoking.
The neglected form of mastitis leads to serious consequences: the transition of pathology to the chronic stage, the formation of an abscess, sepsis.
Symptoms of mastitis
With this disease, women notice the following symptoms:
- pain in the mammary gland;
- inflammation of the cervical and axillary lymph nodes;
- joint aches, muscle pain;
- fever, febrile syndrome.
What to do if you suspect a nodular formation of the breast?
Diagnostics
To confirm the development of nodal seals in the mammary gland and make a diagnosis, the specialist first of all collects information on the patient’s history and her complaints, after which she examines the breast. If there are suspicions of the presence of neoplasms, an additional diagnostic examination is prescribed, including laboratory and instrumental methods of research. These include:
- Mammography for nodular breast formation is the most informative method. The accuracy of the procedure is 100%. Image acquisition is carried out in lateral and direct projections, which makes it possible to evaluate the picture of the pathological process with maximum accuracy. This procedure is recommended for all women after 40 years.
- Contrast X-ray This method is used if the patient has discharge with bloody or serous impurities. To perform this procedure, a contrast agent is injected into the ducts of the affected breast, which makes it possible to examine tumor structures in detail.
- Ultrasound It is recommended that it be carried out in the first phase of the menstrual cycle. The technique is very informative when examining the breasts of young patients, since the connective tissues in this case have a more dense structure.
- Pnevmikistografiya. This technique is used in cases where there is a suspicion of a cystic mass in the gland. During this diagnostic procedure, the doctor performs a puncture of the tumor, the cavity of which is filled with special gas. Next, a snapshot of the node is taken for further study.
- Cytology. This procedure is performed if a woman has pathological discharge from the nipples. To conduct a laboratory study, it is required to obtain a fragment of the biomaterial from the nodal seal.
Treatment of nodular breast formation
The appointment of a range of therapeutic measures for nodal neoplasms is carried out by a gynecologist or mammologist. The choice of treatment method is based on the findings of a diagnostic examination. Traditionally, therapy is carried out in two ways:
- Medication. In this case, a woman is prescribed medications of the following categories: hormones, vitamin complexes, antibiotics. Dosage and duration of administration are determined individually, depending on the variety and characteristics of the pathological process.
- Operational. In the absence of the necessary result from the use of medications, surgery is performed. Indications for it are also: a dynamic increase in the node (up to 1 mm during the year), nodes larger than 1 cm, the risk of the tumor degenerating into an oncological neoplasm, the presence of multiple nodes in the mammary gland.
Surgery
The operation to remove nodal tumors can be performed in three ways:
- Resection, the task of which is to excise the tumor and the tissues surrounding it. It is prescribed in the presence of large nodular formations in the gland, as well as if there is a risk of malignancy.
- Hulling is a more gentle method of surgical treatment of breast nodes. It is used in the case when tumor seals are small in size.
- Mastectomy. In the process of this manipulation, the affected mammary gland is completely removed. Specialists use this method only in extremely difficult development of the pathological process, when in addition to nodules, cancer cells are detected in the gland cavity. After breast removal, a woman is given radiation or chemotherapy.