Breast Ultrasonography

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USG Breast Basics - Probing Principles

  • Indications:

    • Palpable lump (esp. < 40 yrs, pregnant/lactating).
    • Adjunct to mammography (dense breasts, lesion workup).
    • Intervention guidance (biopsy, aspiration).
  • Probe: High-frequency linear array (7.5-15 MHz); ↑frequency = ↑resolution, ↓penetration.

  • Technique:

    • Patient supine, ipsilateral arm raised.
    • Radial/Antiradial scanning (nipple as clock center).
    • Document: clock face, distance from nipple, depth, size.
    • Optimize: gain, Time Gain Compensation (TGC), focal zone, depth.
  • Normal USG Anatomy (Superficial to Deep):

    • Skin → Subcutaneous fat → Mammary (glandular) zone (Cooper's ligaments echogenic) → Retromammary fat → Pectoralis muscle → Ribs (posterior acoustic shadowing).

⭐ Cooper's ligaments appear as echogenic, curvilinear structures providing breast support, well-visualized on USG.

BI-RADS USG - Lexicon Lowdown

Standardized system for reporting breast ultrasound findings, guiding management. Categories 0-6.

Breast Ultrasound: Cyst and Solid Mass

  • Shape & Orientation:
    • Shape: Oval (often benign), Round, Irregular (suspicious).
    • Orientation: Parallel ("wider-than-tall" - often benign), Not parallel ("taller-than-wide" - suspicious).
  • Margin:
    • Circumscribed (often benign).
    • Not circumscribed: Indistinct, Angular, Microlobulated, Spiculated (all suspicious).
  • Echo Pattern & Posterior Features:
    • Echo Pattern: Anechoic, Hypoechoic, Isoechoic, Hyperechoic, Complex (cystic/solid).
    • Posterior Features: Enhancement (often benign), Shadowing (often suspicious), Combined, None.
  • Calcifications & Associated Features:
    • Calcifications: Macrocalcifications; Microcalcifications (in mass/outside mass).
    • Associated Features: Duct changes, Skin changes (retraction/thickening), Edema, Vascularity (present/absent, location).

⭐ BI-RADS 3 lesions imply a <2% risk of malignancy; initial short-interval follow-up (e.g., 6 months) is crucial.

Benign Lesions USG - Friendly Phantoms

Benign lesions show non-suspicious USG features: (📌 Mnemonic: WOW - Wider than tall, Oval, Well-circumscribed). Typically oval/round shape, parallel orientation, and well-circumscribed margins. (BI-RADS USG)

  • Simple Cyst (BI-RADS 2)
    • Anechoic, round/oval, circumscribed
    • Posterior acoustic enhancement
    • No internal vascularity
  • Fibroadenoma (BI-RADS 2/3)
    • Commonest benign solid tumor.
    • Homogeneous, hypoechoic/isoechoic
    • Oval, circumscribed, parallel
    • Thin echogenic capsule; popcorn calcification (involuting) Calcified fibroadenoma on breast ultrasound
  • Lipoma (BI-RADS 2)
    • Isoechoic to fat/hyperechoic
    • Oval, circumscribed, compressible
  • Galactocele
    • Variable echogenicity; fat-fluid level
    • Posterior enhancement
  • Intramammary Lymph Node (BI-RADS 2)
    • Oval/reniform, hypoechoic cortex < 3mm
    • Echogenic fatty hilum

⭐ A "breast within a breast" USG appearance strongly suggests a hamartoma (fibroadenolipoma).

Malignant Lesions USG - Sinister Shadows

  • Shape & Orientation: Irregular, not parallel to skin; taller-than-wide (AP diameter > transverse) highly suspicious.
  • Margins: Spiculated (hallmark), angular, microlobulated, ill-defined.
  • Echo Pattern: Marked hypoechogenicity (vs. fat), heterogeneous internal echoes.
  • Posterior Acoustic Features: Shadowing ("sinister shadow") common; can be combined or rarely enhanced.
  • Microcalcifications: Punctate echogenic foci, often without shadowing; suspicious if clustered/pleomorphic.
  • Ductal Involvement: Extension into ducts, branch pattern.
  • Vascularity (Doppler): Increased internal vascularity, penetrating vessels.
  • Associated Signs: Thickened/retracted Cooper's ligaments, skin dimpling/retraction, lymphedema. Axillary node: cortical thickness >3mm, absent fatty hilum. Breast US: Spiculated mass with posterior shadowing

Taller-than-wide orientation is a strong predictor of malignancy, indicating growth across tissue planes rather than along them.

  • Primary modality for women < 30 years, pregnant, or lactating.
  • Key to differentiate cystic (anechoic, posterior enhancement) from solid masses.
  • BI-RADS US standardizes reporting and malignancy risk assessment.
  • "Taller-than-wide" shape is a highly suspicious sign of malignancy.
  • Posterior acoustic shadowing often indicates malignancy; enhancement suggests benign.
  • Essential for guiding interventions like biopsies and aspirations.
  • Doppler US assesses vascularity, aiding characterization (benign vs. malignant).

Practice Questions: Breast Ultrasonography

Test your understanding with these related questions

20 years old female came with complaint of a palpable painless mass in right breast. On examination, mass was mobile and hard in consistency. Ultrasound of right breast was performed . Most likely diagnosis is?

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Flashcards: Breast Ultrasonography

1/10

Most important sign of malignancy in mammogram is _____ micro calcification

Hint: diffuse/clustered

TAP TO REVEAL ANSWER

Most important sign of malignancy in mammogram is _____ micro calcification

clustered

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