Long-term outcome of benign fibroadenomas treated by ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision

Surgical as well as conservative treatment has been described for fibroadenomas. Both have disadvantages. A minimally invasive treatment, ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted percutaneous excision has been shown to facilitate the removal of all imaged evidence of benign breast lesions, including fibroadenomas up to 3 cm in diameter. This study is performed to assess the long-term outcome of ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision as a minimally invasive treatment for fibroadenomas. A retrospective review of 69 consecutive fibroadenomas treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision between May, 2001 and December, 2005 was carried out. All these lesions underwent percutaneous excision of all imaged lesion evidence. Clinical and sonographic follow-up was recommended for all patients every 6 months. Initial size, location, and patient age were recorded for each treated lesion. Of 69 lesions treated, 52 were available for follow-up. The median follow-up period was 22 months, with a range of 7 to 59 months. At 6 months, there were no fibroadenoma recurrences. Follow-up sonography demonstrated recurrences in 13 lesions distributed across eight patients. The overall recurrence rate was 15% (8/52) with an actuarial recurrence rate of 33% at 59 months. All of the recurrences were in lesions which were larger than 2 cm in size at initial presentation. Our data suggest that the mechanism of recurrence is the regrowth of retained lesion fragments too small to be detected by ultrasound--not the incomplete excision of all imaged lesion evidence. Despite successful percutaneous excision, fibroadenomas do recur. Lesions smaller than 2 cm in size, so treated, do not need additional therapy or surveillance. Fibroadenomas larger than 2 cm are prone to recurrence and require additional treatment.