The concept of infiltrate determines the concentration in the tissues of the body of cells in which there is an admixture of blood and lymph, that is, this is a tissue area that is characterized by the presence of cellular elements that are usually not inherent in it, an increased volume of tissue and its density is above normal. Often occurring varieties of infiltrate are inflammatory and tumor in nature. The infiltrate that has arisen in the mammary gland seems to be a sign of infiltrative type mastitis and belongs to the inflammatory type. The cause of this disease is the development of an infectious process.
Signs of a breast infiltrate
Signs of inflammatory processes in the mammary gland are pain, local temperature, swelling of the gland and redness. If a woman is breastfeeding, then it is necessary to establish how the lactation process is going on (little or a lot of milk, is there a need for pumping). Milk stagnant in the ducts of the mammary gland, as a rule, causes symptoms of inflammation and intoxication. Infiltrate in this case extends to most of the gland, more often it is its outer part.
The infiltrate has fuzzy boundaries, the skin over it acquires a cyanotic color, palpation causes sharp pain, local and general hyperemia is observed. However, you should be even more wary if inflammatory signs occur in women after 30 years of age who are not breastfeeding. Under them, atypical forms of cancer, rapidly progressing in the mammary gland, can be masked. A large area of skin may look like a lemon peel and be very hyperemic, which gives reason to suspect a tumor.
Symptoms of bluish glossy skin characterize subcutaneous mastitis. Pain, swelling, the presence of hyperemia of the nipple are the hallmarks of subareal mastitis. A deep infiltrate without changes in the skin, but with an elevated temperature, dense and painful, manifests itself with mastitis of the intramamarine type. A deep infiltrate with a purulent formation, especially in women who do not breastfeed and have never given birth, is an indicator of the presence of costal osteomyelitis, a leak under the gland and other diseases. Inflammations are always fixed, have a sharp pain and do not visually change the mammary gland.
Diagnosis of breast infiltrate
When diagnosing any changes in the tissues of the mammary gland, several basic principles are followed.
The first is the exclusion of cancer. Therefore, the doctor makes the final conclusion based on the study of histological material.
Secondly, no matter what changes one mammary gland has undergone, another must be examined in order to avoid the development of dyshormonal hyperplasia.
The third – studies of a hormonal nature are carried out, in case of correction of hormonal disorders.
A study is being made of the size of the inflammatory infiltrate and its relationship with adjacent tissues, the chest wall, and whether there is a transition beyond the gland. Subareolar mastitis is dangerous by a breakthrough of the formed abscess under the areola. An infiltrate that makes the mammary gland immobile is characteristic of the inflammatory process of the chest wall. If, during palpation of the infiltrate, the finger fails, that is, softening is present, it means that an abscess has formed in the mammary gland.
Infiltrate with mastitis has characteristics that depend on the localization of the inflammation process. The vagueness of deep pain, the presence of intoxication, the impossibility of palpation (especially with a large gland) indicate retromammary mastitis. In cases of doubt, the mammologist always prescribes a deep puncture, during which he monitors the dense tissue sensation when the needle is advanced. Deep infiltrates require x-rays of the spine and ribs. Breast diseases are dealt with by a mammologist.
Treatment of breast infiltrate
The slightest suspicion of an inflammatory process in the mammary gland requires an immediate appeal to a specialist, a mammologist. This disease, with accurate diagnosis and immediate treatment aimed at eliminating the cause and suppressing the infectious process, has a good prognosis. In the treatment of infiltrate, a conservative technique is used – antibiotic therapy, in which potent broad-spectrum agents are involved. In order for the infiltrate to resolve, it takes up to 7 days. In the presence of intoxication, detoxification methods are used (infusion of glucose solution, electrolytes).