Isolated Breast Lump of Tuberculosis Etiology

Abstract

Letters to the EditorIsolated Breast Lump of Tuberculosis Etiology Hassan A.A. MusaFRCSI Hassan A.A. Musa Department of Surgery King Faisal Hospital P.O. Box 146 Taif, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author Published Online:1 Jan 1998https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.1998.85aSectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionTo the Editor: Primary tuberculosis (TB) disease of the breast is rare. Clinically, lesions may be mistaken for breast carcinoma. Regional lymph node involvement is common, and occasionally these nodes are intramammary.We report an isolated TB breast lump in a fit female patient. We think it is important to consider TB etiology in patients presenting with breast lumps and/or abscesses. A 20-year-old female patient was seen at the surgical outpatient department complaining of painless lump in the left breast of four months' duration. She stated no other symptoms and had not experienced any significant illness previously. On examination, she looked healthy, of moderate physique and not anemic. Systemic examination revealed no abnormalities apart from a firm, painless mobile lump measuring about 2 cm x 4 cm on the lateral upper quadrant of the left breast. The nipple and skin were normal. Provisional diagnosis of fibroadenoma was suggested and the patient was admitted to hospital for excision biopsy.Through a circumareolar incision, the lump was excised and sent for histopathological study. A granulomatous lesion with a positive acid-fast bacilli typical of TB was reported. Thorough investigation for TB in other organs or body systems proved negative, apart from a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The patient was started on anti-TB therapy for six months. Following treatment she remained in good health and there was no recurrence of the breast lump after one year of follow-up. The ESR dropped to within the normal range. We think that early suspicion of breast TB will save patients the long list of surgical and medical TB complications.ARTICLE REFERENCES:1. Arnaout AH, Shousha S, Metaxas N, Husain OA. "Intramammary tuberculosis lymphadenitis" . Histopathology. 1990; 17: 91–3. Google Scholar2. Sopena B, Arnillas E, Garcia-Vila MM, Climent A, Miramontes S. Infection (Germany). 1996; 24: 57–8. Google Scholar3. Tan KK, Tan TH. Singapore Med J. 1988; 29: 271–5. Google Scholar4. Keane FB, Ryan TD. Ir Med J. 1978; 71: 416–20. Google Scholar Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 18, Issue 1January 1998 Metrics History Published online1 January 1998 InformationCopyright © 1998, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download