Kr. Mertz et al., BREAST CELLULITIS FOLLOWING BREAST-CONSERVATION THERAPY - A NOVEL COMPLICATION OF MEDICAL PROGRESS, Clinical infectious diseases, 26(2), 1998, pp. 481-486
Breast cellulitis is a novel complication of the recently accepted pra
ctice of breast conservation therapy. This phenomenon represents an an
atomic shift from ipsilateral upper extremity cellulitis seen in past
years when mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection was performe
d for treatment of limited disease due to breast cancer, Thirteen epis
odes of breast cellulitis in nine women who underwent breast conservat
ion therapy for stage I or II breast cancer are presented. The mean du
ration from the end of radiotherapy to the initial episode of cellulit
is was 4.9 months, Eighty-three percent of episodes occurred in patien
ts who had radiologically demonstrated fluid collections at the surgic
al lumpectomy site prior to the onset of cellulitis, Eight (61.5%) of
13 episodes occurred within 3 months of a follow-up mammogram of the t
reated breast. Two patients developed recurrent cellulitis within a 6-
month period, Breast cellulitis may be more commonly seen in clinical
practice as an increasing number of patients undergo breast-sparing pr
ocedures for treatment of limited disease due to cancer.