Breast disease seriously affects women’s health. In addition to palpation, there are many common and effective ways of examination.
Breast ultrasonography is an extremely important one. Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to image breast tissue. Its advantages are significant, and it is quite accurate to identify whether the breast mass is cystic or solid. For example, on examination, a breast cyst will appear as a typical round or oval anechoic area with clear, smooth borders and enhanced posterior echogenicity. For solid masses, the internal echo, boundary, shape and blood flow can be clearly displayed. This helps to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, such as breast fibroadenoma, which is characterized by well-defined, encapsulated and homogeneous internal echo, while breast cancer is characterized by ill-defined, irregular shape, inhomogeneous internal echo and abundant blood flow signals. At the same time, ultrasound examination is painless, non-invasive, no radiation, suitable for women of all ages, especially for young women, pregnant and lactating women, is one of the preferred methods of breast disease screening.
Mammography is also a widely used method. It photographs the breast with a low dose of X-rays. Molybdenum target can clearly show the overall structure of the breast, especially for the calcification in the breast, it has a very high sensitivity. Microcalcifications appear as white bright spots on mammograms, which may be an important sign of early breast cancer. For example, intraductal carcinoma is often associated with clusters of microcalcifications. Moreover, molybdenum target examination has higher diagnostic value for middle-aged and elderly women with low breast tissue density, can find some lesions that can not be touched by palpation, and help doctors to make early diagnosis and evaluation of breast diseases.
Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also plays an important role in the examination of breast diseases. MRI has high soft tissue resolution and can be used for multi-directional and multi-parameter imaging. It can more clearly show the size, shape, boundary of breast lesions and the relationship with surrounding tissues. It has a good ability to detect multifocal, multicentric lesions and occult lesions in the contralateral breast. For example, it has unique advantages in evaluating the preoperative lesion range of breast cancer patients, finding possible satellite lesions and judging whether there is recurrence after operation. However, because of its high cost, long examination time and certain restrictions on patients with metal implants in the body, it is generally not used as a routine screening method, but as a means of further examination.
Ductoscopy plays a key role
in the presence of nipple discharge. By inserting a very thin ductoscope into the duct, the inside of the duct can be observed directly. If there is papilloma in the breast duct, the shape, size and location of the tumor can be seen under fiberoptic ductoscopy, which provides accurate information for subsequent surgical treatment and helps to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and the pertinence of treatment.
These examination methods complement each other and provide a strong guarantee for the accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of breast diseases.
