Breast Reduction Mammoplasty: Surgical Pathology Dissection

Reduction Mammoplasty

There are no rigid criteria that dictate the num-ber of sections to submit from reduction mam-moplasty. In the absence of such criteria, a few considerations provide some helpful guidelines for specimen sampling. First, thorough gross examination of the thinly sliced specimen is the key to identifying clinically significant lesions. Second, because the risk of breast cancer in-creases with age, submit relatively more sections from specimens removed from older patients.

We suggest submitting three sections from patients under 30 years of age and five sections from patients over 50 years of age. Third, because carcinomas and atypical hyperplasias are much more likely to involve fibrous breast tissue than fatty breast tissue, sections should selectively target dense and fibrotic breast parenchyma. The identification of atypical lesions or carcinoma on these initial sections indicates the need to go back to the specimen to obtain additional sections.