1993 Volume 54 Issue 7 Pages 1706-1711
Among accumulated cases undergoing breast conservative therapy which was started in 1990, preoperative thermography has been conducted in 25 cases. These 25 cases were subjected to a study of the significance of thermography in decision making for indicating breast conservative operation.
Predominant thermographical findings were classified into three categories; locoregional hyperthermic area, hyperthermal vascular pattern and hyperthermic foci at the nipple types.
Histopathological diagnoses following the conservative operation included; the residual cancer at the surgical margins in two patients, and the cancer positive stumps at frozen section diagnoses followed by additional excision in three patients. In these five and two other cases in which total mastectomy was carried out after an intraoperative decision, extensive intraductal components and calcificational foci were remarkable, and the thermographical findings showed the abnormal hypervascular type or hyperthermic foci at the nipple type.
Accordingly in the selection of operative procedure, the breast conservative therapy should be cautiously employed in patients showing abnormal hypervascular and/or extremely hyperthermal nipple types on thermography.
