Rare case of divided phrenic nerve variation: a cadaveric case report.

The phrenic nerve innervates the respiratory diaphragm, the primary muscle active during ventilation. The canonical path of the phrenic nerve originates from the cervical spine at C3-C5 spinal nerves and travels inferiorly through the neck and thoracic cavity to reach the diaphragm. During a cadaver dissection, a variation of the phrenic nerve was discovered in a 93-year-old male specimen. A traditional origin of the phrenic nerve was noted; however, the nerve branched into medial and lateral components at the level of the superior trunk of the brachial plexus. The branches reconnected at the apex of the aortic arch and continued inferiorly to innervate the ipsilateral diaphragm. This case study describes a rare type of branching of the phrenic nerve and explores its potential impact on clinical procedures.

Fat Necrosis of the Breast After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Presenting Similarly to Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

The clinical presentation of a new breast mass warrants a broad initial differential diagnosis. With breast cancer as the most common female malignancy in the United States, it is critical to consider the various types of breast cancer in the differential diagnosis. However, there are also a myriad of benign etiologies for a new breast mass that also need to be considered. Fat necrosis of the breast is a benign condition that may be mistaken as malignancy and often develops as the result of trauma to the breast tissue. This report describes a case of fat necrosis of the breast in a patient that developed as a rare complication months after undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery that presented with symptoms concerning for possible malignancy.