Histopathological findings in surgical specimens obtained from reduction mammaplasties

Summary The objective of this study was to check the histopathological findings following reduction mammaplasty. A total of 274 patient files were reviewed retrospectively. All women ascertained were divided into three groups by age. All of them had undergone reduction mammaplasty between January 1987 and December 2002. Breast tissues resected during surgery were submitted to histopathological examination. Benign lesions were more frequently encountered than any other type of breast pathology. Dysplasia and fibroadiposity accounted for 69.1% of the lesions found, most being in group 1. Atypical ductal hyperplasia was found in 0.6% of cases. The frequency of carcinoma was 1.1%. The prevalence of ductal carcinoma was 0.6%, and most of these cases were in group 3. It was observed that the age group with the highest number of histopathological lesions was that of women younger than 35 years of age and that benign lesions were the most common kind. Lack of pathological investigation or a cursory or hurried examination of any mammary tissue by the pathologist may cause important lesions to be overlooked.