Breast haematomas: same appearance, different diagnosis

We report two cases of patients presenting as breast haematomas but with uncommon underlying pathology. One patient had a bilateral breast augmentation by a peculiar method of inserting shredded cellophane packing. A haematoma developed after a fall and subsequently became infected. The second patient was on long-term anticoagulant therapy and developed a haematoma through bleeding from an occult malignant lesion. Both cases demonstrate the need to obtain histology--especially in the elderly, where history and clinical examination may confound diagnosis.