[Surgery for subclinical breast lesions]

Subclinical mammographic abnormalities discovered through screening are subjected to excisional surgical biopsy in order to prove or rule out malignant disease of the breast by histological examination. Close attention should be paid by the surgeon to avoid cosmetically disfiguring scar and failure in excision removal exhibited on postoperative mammogram. Indications for surgical assessment are selected upon suspicious patterns of opacities, clusters of microcalcifications or architectural distortions. Good communication between the radiologist, the surgeon and the pathologist is required for proper management of non palpable lesion. The most adequate lumpectomy technique should be performed with regard to the oncologic risk and cosmetic outcome.