Benign Breast Disease

Abstract

Benign breast disease constitutes any abnormality that upon further workup is found to be noncancerous and does not establish premalignant potential. Benign breast diseases can present in various ways, such as breast pain, a palpable breast lump, nipple discharge, or an imaging abnormality. Appropriate workup is essential to ensure that the new change is benign. This may entail additional imaging, biopsy, or surgery if necessary. Surgeons need to be able to recognize the presentation, appropriate workup, and treatment recommendations for the various benign breast diseases. This review addresses the broad range of benign breast lesions and their management recommendations. This review contains 7 figures, 5 tables and 54 references Key words: benign breast disease, breast cyst, breast mass, breast pain, idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, nipple discharge, papilloma, periductal mastitis, sclerosing adenosis