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Underreported and underrecognized: a comprehensive imaging review of breast injury

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Abstract

Breast injury is commonly encountered yet it remains significantly underreported. Injury to the breast may arise from either primary mechanisms or secondary or iatrogenic mechanisms. Primary mechanisms of breast injury include blunt force, seat-belt, penetrating, and thermal injury. Secondary or iatrogenic mechanisms of breast injury include breast biopsy or intervention as well as operative intervention and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The severity of breast injury arising from these mechanisms is broad, ranging from breast contusion to avulsion. Sequelae of breast injury include fat necrosis and Mondor’s disease. Radiologists play an integral role in the evaluation and management of breast injury both in the acute and non-acute settings. In the acute setting, radiologists must be able to recognize breast injury arising from primary mechanisms or iatrogenic or secondary mechanisms and to identify rare but potentially life-threatening complications promptly to ensure timely, appropriate management. In the non-acute setting, radiologists must be able to discern the sequalae of breast injury from other processes to prevent potentially unnecessary further evaluation and intervention. Nonetheless, though breast injury is commonly encountered there remain few guidelines and a lack of established recommendations for the evaluation and management of breast injury. We provide a comprehensive multi-modality imaging review of breast injury arising in the acute setting as well as the sequela of breast injury arising in the non-acute setting. Moreover, we provide an overview of the management of breast injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 11th Floor, Gordon & Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada

    Helena Bentley, Joanna Yuen, James Roberts, Tetyana Martin, Charlotte Yong-Hing, Savvas Nicolaou & Nicolas Murray

  2. Department of Medical Imaging, BC Cancer, Vancouver, Canada

    Tetyana Martin & Charlotte Yong-Hing

  3. Division of Emergency Radiology, Department of Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, Canada

    Savvas Nicolaou & Nicolas Murray

Authors
  1. Helena Bentley
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  2. Joanna Yuen
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  3. James Roberts
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  4. Tetyana Martin
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  5. Charlotte Yong-Hing
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  6. Savvas Nicolaou
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  7. Nicolas Murray
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Correspondence to Helena Bentley.

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Bentley, H., Yuen, J., Roberts, J. et al. Underreported and underrecognized: a comprehensive imaging review of breast injury. Emerg Radiol 30, 777–789 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-023-02167-0

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