Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis: Overcoming this Important Clinical Challenge

Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine possible risk factors for recurrence development in patients with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) METHOD: Demographic, clinical, radiological and histopathological characteristics of 34 consecutive patients with IGM were retrospectively reviewed. Also, 32 patients who were informed about recurrence status were divided into non-recurrent (n=27) and recurrent (n=5) groups. Both groups were compared for demographic and clinical parameters. RESULTS: This study included 34 female patients with IGM aged between 26 and 70 (median: 38 yr) years. During the follow up period, no recurrence occured in 27 patients whereas recurrence developed in 5 patients. No significant difference was found between the groups with respect to age, lesion size, breast-feeding, number of child, marital status, use of oral contraceptive, familial or personal tuberculosis history, PPD test, smoking, lesion side, lesion location on the breast, and treatment choice. The di...