Plastic Surgery Blog: Breast pain; What is a woman to do?

According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, when a woman is feeling breast pain; getting a mammogram may not be the best choice. A new study shows that imaging tests specifically for breast pain might not have a monumental benefit. The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, discovered that for women with a completely normal breast exam, having an MRI, mammogram or ultrasound did not appear to make a difference in any recommendation or decisions on the part of the doctor and the patient. “While some have suggested that doing further testing in women with breast pain will help to reassure the patient, we did not find this to be the case,” study researcher Mary Beth Howard, MS, an MD candidate at the Boston University School of Medicine, said in a statement. Study authors noted that there are no specific parameters on how breast pain should be treated by a doctor, though it may make some women cope more easily if they have an imaging test performed. The study included 916 women who had breast pain and were referred to the Boston Medical Center between 2006 and 2009. The study physicians looked at how the women who received imaging tests were diagnosed and treated, and they compared them with women who didn’t receive imaging tests. In conclusion, six of the women had cancer. All of them had another accompanying sign of cancer – for example cancer in the other breast discovered by a screening mammogram, or a lump in the breast. Researchers also discovered that for the women who had the imaging tests just for the breast pain, there were the added negative experiences, including having to visit the doctor more times, having to endure more mammograms, and being tested multiple times. Dr . Stuart Kincaid explains to patients who are having breast surgery including breast augmentation with implants, breast reduction, and breastlift that proactive breast health is extremely important. After having breast surgery patient should be keenly aware that they will still be advised to follow the American Cancer Society’s recommendation for early breast cancer detection. This recommendation includes monthly breast self-exams as well as an annual mammogram at 40 years of age. Breast cancer patients have some of the highest cancer survival rates. Dr. Stuart Kincaid performs both breast reconstructionas well as cosmetic breast surgery. As a result, he is committed to helping patients maintain their best breast health.Become a Fan on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter More on Dr.Kincaid

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Board Certified, The American Board of Plastic Surgery 1985
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