Primary tuberculous mastitis in a Nigerian woman

Tubercolous mastitis is an uncommon lesion even in countries where the incidence of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis is still very high. At the Ife University Teaching Hospital only one case of tuberculous mastitis has been seen over a ten-year period during which 671 breast biopsies were examined. This was in a 36-year old Nigerian woman who developed a left breast mass during pregnancy. She was seen after her delivery and was initially diagnosed as a case of carcinoma of the breast. Subsequent excisional biopsy and pathological examination of the mass confirmed tuberculosis of the breast. She has responded favourably to anti-tuberculous therapy.