Comparative study of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation and traditional surgery in the treatment of plasma cell mastitis: a multicenter study

Ying Zhou; Zhi-Feng Xu; Wei Xing; Yuan Liu; Zhao Xu; Guo-Liang Tan; Shu-Rong Wang; Dong Xu

doi:10.21037/qims-21-1132

Comparative study of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation and traditional surgery in the treatment of plasma cell mastitis: a multicenter study

Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2023 Mar 1;13(3):1838-1848. doi: 10.21037/qims-21-1132. Epub 2022 Dec 6.

Authors

Ying Zhou¹, Zhi-Feng Xu¹, Wei Xing¹, Yuan Liu¹, Zhao Xu¹, Guo-Liang Tan¹, Shu-Rong Wang², Dong Xu^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China.
² Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical College, Yantai, China.
³ Department of Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging and Interventional Therapy, Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital), Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Institute of Basic Medicine and Cancer (IBMC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Plasma cell mastitis (PCM) is a benign breast disease that is refractory and difficult to cure. We integrated microwave ablation into the treatment of PCM to compare the clinical value of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation and traditional surgery in the treatment of PCM.

Methods: A total of 68 patients with PCM who were admitted to 3 centers (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hebei Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical university) from January 2017 to June 2019 were selected. All patients were diagnosed with PCM after pathological and clinical manifestations. Among these, 38 cases were treated with ultrasound-guided microwave ablation, and 30 cases were treated with traditional surgery. The operation time, hospitalization time, incision healing, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pain degree, evaluation of breast shape effect, time taken for postoperative lesion disappearance, effective rate, and recurrence were recorded in the follow-up, and the clinical efficacy was compared and observed.

Results: The effective rate of the ablation group was 86.8% (33/38), that of the operation group was 46.7% (14/30), and the difference was statistically significant (95% CI: 2.311-24.618; P<0.05). The average time of the lesion completely disappearing was 75.55±43.59 days in the ablation group and 103.87±45.98 days in the operation group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The hospital stays, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss of patients in the ablation group were less than those of the operation group, and the difference was statistically significant (95% CI: -10.69 to -6.27, 95% CI: -77.06 to -51.26, and 95% CI: -21.54 to -13.64; P<0.05). The postoperative pain scoring, operative incision healing at 14 days after the operation, and breast appearance evaluation after treatment in the ablation group were better than those of the operation group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).

Conclusions: Compared with traditional surgery, ultrasound-guided microwave ablation is a more effective treatment option for PCM.

Keywords: Plasma cell mastitis (PCM); microwave ablation guided by ultrasound; traditional operation.