HISTOLOGICAL-FINDINGS IN BREAST-TISSUE SPECIMENS FROM REDUCTION MAMMAPLASTIES

Tissue specimens from 55 consecutive reduction mammoplasty operations were studied histologically for changes considered to be associated to an increased risk in the development of invasive breast cancer. A tho rough sampling of all removed tissues was performed and nearly all sol id parts were processed for histological evaluation. We found that in 17 specimens, most of which belonged to women younger than 40 years of age (39), both breasts presented either no-proliferative changes or m ild hyperplastic lesions of the usual type and thus the women had no i ncreased risk for breast cancer development. In 7 breast specimens, al l of them from women older than 30 years, the changes observed ranged from florid hyperplasia to atypical ductal or lobular hyperplasia, whi ch are lesions considered to be associated to a relatively increased r isk of invasive carcinoma. Finally we present a case of infiltrative d uctal carcinoma with extensive lesions of atypical hyperplasia and com bined ductal and lobular carcinoma in situ in both breasts, which deve loped 3 years after reduction mammoplasty in which changes of atypical hyperplasia were found. We suggest that reduction mammoplasty specime ns should be handled with particular care and according to the women's