[Echography of the operated breast]

Aim of the present study is to evaluate the results of quadrantectomy by means of mammography and sonography (US). A hundred and thirty-five quadrantectomized patients bearing a carcinoma were investigated; 97 of them are now undergoing TCT. Mammographic examinations were performed with last-generation units; US studies employed high-frequency probes greater than or equal to 7.5 MHz. Ten relapses (7.4%) were observed, all of them around the scar: clinical examination correctly detected 3 cases, mammography 8, and US 6; the latter technique identified in 1 further case a pathologic finding which had not been previously assessed as a neoplastic lesion. Our results suggest that clinical examination has poor diagnostic value, while mammography has high value (8/10 cases), especially in detecting neoplastic microcalcifications (3/10 cases). The structural opacity of the breast caused 2/10 mammographic false negatives; US correctly detected 6/10 relapses, but failed to identify 3 microcalcifications. The combined use of the two techniques allowed the respective mistakes to be amended. US has proven to be especially useful not only to integrate mammography in the diagnosis of tumor recurrences, but also to study postoperative fluid collections, which are usually missed by mammography.