Routine Pathology Examination of Breast Tissue in Adolescent Reduction Mammaplasty

Abstract

Background Routine pathology examination of breast tissue in reduction mammaplasty (RM) is performed with aims of detecting incidental malignancy or risk-increasing lesions. In adolescent patients, the reported incidence ranges between 0% to 0.01%, and costs of pathology claims range between $23 and $614 per analysis. We aim to investigate the rate of incidental findings and the cost-effectiveness of routine pathology examination in adolescent RM. Methods A single-center retrospective review of the pathology results for 132 breast specimens from 66 consecutive RM patients was performed. Data collected for analysis included breast cancer risk factors, demographic information, and operative variables. Results Zero cases of incidental malignant or risk-increasing lesions were found among the 132 breast specimens from 66 patients aged between 10 and 24 years. Of the 132 specimens, 34 (26%) contained benign fibrocystic disease, which was significantly associated a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 and tissue resection weight greater than 1000 g per breast (P = 0.003, P = 0.007) respectively. Conclusions Based on the available data, the use of routine specimen analysis costs more than US $150 million for one breast cancer diagnosis during RM in this age group. In our study, zero atypical, precancerous, or cancerous lesions were detected in a 7-year analysis. The results of this study support the current literature, which reports no occurrence of incidental findings in young women and may promote a greater understanding of evidence-based healthcare spending while concomitantly decreasing the strain placed on histopathology services.