Foreign body granuloma from a gunshot injury to the breast

Glass shards masquerading as calcifications in the breast: A case report

Noniatrogenically acquired foreign bodies in the nipple-areola complex or breast skin are rare and can have variable imaging features, depending on the nature of the foreign material. We present the case of a 41-year-old female who had numerous apparent round and punctate calcifications in the right periareolar breast, predominantly within the skin. The biopsy showed multiple glass shards on a background of scar tissue. Further discussion with the patient confirmed that the glass shards were acquired during a motor vehicle accident several years earlier. We also review the types of foreign body material observed in the breast, the imaging appearance of glass foreign bodies in soft tissue, and methods of removal.

Challenges in Interpretation of US Breast Findings in the Emergency Setting

Emergencies in breast imaging are infrequent but not rare. Although infectious conditions such as mastitis and breast abscess are the most common breast diseases encountered in acute care settings, other entities that may require additional imaging or different treatment approaches are also seen and include traumatic injury and breast cancer. While mammography is widely available for breast evaluation in outpatient facilities, most emergency departments do not have mammography units. This makes evaluation of patients with breast disease incomplete in the acute care setting and emphasizes the role of appropriate US techniques for interpretation. It also highlights the importance of effective sonographer-to-radiologist communication to ensure patient safety and diagnostic accuracy, especially in an era of increasing adoption of teleradiology. The authors discuss the challenges in image acquisition and remote interpretation that are commonly faced by radiologists when they assess breast anomalies in the emergency setting. They present strategies to overcome these challenges by describing techniques for proper US evaluation, highlighting the importance of sonographer-radiologist communication, defining the goals of the evaluation, reviewing common differential diagnoses, and providing appropriate follow-up recommendations. ©RSNA, 2023 Quiz questions for this article are available in the supplemental material.

A case report of a bullet in the breast of a woman for four years without any complications

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

A bullet stabilized in a breast for more than 4 years without causing any complication due to its presence is not a common case. Sometimes breast isolated injury could be seen without symptoms like pain, or palpable mass, or it could present with abscess formation and fistula. In addition, the bullet - if it's small - could mimic calcifications seen in malignancy when performing mammography.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a case of a 46-year-old well-being female who came to resect a superficial gunshot she got in her left breast in one of the armed conflict areas in Syria. The bullet has been settled there for more than 4 years without causing any inflammation-related signs at the wound's site and without causing any symptoms or complications.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

The tissue damage caused by the gunshot is associated with several factors such as the bullet caliber, speed, range of shooting, and energy flux. Frequently, gunshot injuries are most serious in friable solid organs like the liver and brain, whereas dense tissues such as bones and loose tissues like subcutaneous fat are more tolerant and resistant to that kind of insult. When a foreign body (bullet) enters the body without causing tremendous tissue damage and settles there for enough period of time we expect seeing signs of inflammation (heat, swelling, pain, tenderness, and redness).

CONCLUSION

Such cases must be taken into consideration and not be neglected without intervention due to the increased risk of many fearful complications including Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Successful retrieval of a needle point from the breast through a vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system

Stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) system is generally used to perform breast biopsies after identifying suspicious lesions that are occult on ultrasound. In this case, we used an 8-Gauge VABB to retrieve a needle point retained in the outer-lower quadrant of the right breast of a patient previously treated with lumpectomy. The use of stereotactic VABB system in this specific clinical setting has been never described before and resulted minimally invasive and perfectly suitable for correct localisation and retrieval of the 3-mm needle point; moreover, it may be easily reproduced elsewhere.

The emerging role of inorganic elements as potential antigens in sarcoidosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Previous studies mainly described a role for organic agents as possible triggers for sarcoidosis. In this review, we address recent studies suggesting a possible role for inorganic elements, such as metals or silica in sarcoidosis pathogenesis.

RECENT FINDINGS

Several epidemiological papers suggest that inorganic agents, either by environmental exposures or occupational activities, could trigger sarcoidosis. Association between inorganics and sarcoidosis is also described in several recently published case reports and studies demonstrating immunological sensitization to inorganic agents in sarcoidosis patients.Studies comparing chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis suggest that although antigenic triggers may differ, underlying processes may be comparable.Besides the fact that a growing number of studies show a possible role for inorganic triggers, it is also suggested that inorganic triggered sarcoidosis may result in a more severe phenotype, including pulmonary fibrosis.

SUMMARY

We can use the knowledge already gained on CBD pathogenesis to conduct further research into role of inorganics, such as metals and silica as antigens in sarcoidosis. Given the importance of a lymphocyte proliferation test (LPT) in diagnosing CBD, it seems obvious to also implement this test in the diagnostic work-up of sarcoidosis to identify patients with an inorganic antigenic trigger of their disease.