Primary lymphoma of the breast involving both axillae with bilateral breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Primary Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (PHNL) of the breast is a rare entity, while secondary involvement of the breast with diffuse disease of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is more common. However, PNHL is the most frequent haematopoietic tumour of the breast. Diagnostic criteria for PNHL of the breast are presence of technically adequate pathologic specimens, close association of mammary tissue and lymphomatous infiltrate, no prior diagnosis of an extarammamary lymphoma, and no evidence of concurrent widespread disease, except for ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes if concomitant with the primary lesion. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old woman was recalled because her screening mammograms revealed three separate lesions in her right breast and one in the left. Histology of the lesions confirmed lymphoma in one breast with ductal carcinoma in the other. CONCLUSION: Most of reported cases in literature have been involving the right breast, and almost all the patients were females. NHLs of the breast typically present as unilateral mass; the frequency of bilateral disease at first presentation ranges from 5-25%. Our objective is to report a case of primary lymphoma of the breast involving both axillae with concomitant bilateral primary breast cancer which has not been reported yet to our best of knowledge in literature.

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia: a case report.

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) is a rare benign proliferating breast condition. It was first reported in 1986 when Vuitch, Rosen, and Erlandson described nine cases of benign well-circumscribed, breast masses that simulated vascular lesions consisting of mammary stromal proliferations (Vuitch et al. (1986)). Since then there have been few reported cases of PASH in the literature (Taira et al. (2005)). We describe a large PASH, mimicking inflammatory carcinoma in a young lady that was excised with excellent cosmetic results.

The Bair Hugger patient warming system in prolonged vascular surgery: an infection risk?

INTRODUCTION: Use of the Bair Hugger forced-air patient warming system during prolonged abdominal vascular surgery may lead to increased bacterial contamination of the surgical field by mobilization of the patient's skin flora. METHODS: This possibility was studied by analyzing bacterial content in air and wound specimens collected during surgery in 16 patients undergoing abdominal vascular prosthetic graft insertion procedure, using the Bair Hugger patient warming system. The bacterial colony counts from the beginning and the end of surgery were compared, and the data analyzed using the Wilcoxon matched pairs test. RESULTS: The results showed not only that there was no increase in bacterial counts at the study sites, but also that there was a decrease (P < 0.01) in air bacterial content around the patient and in the operating theatre after prolonged use of the patient warmer. No wound or graft infections occurred. CONCLUSION: The use of this warming system does not lead to increased bacterial contamination of the operating theatre atmosphere, and it is unlikely to affect the surgical field adversely.