Breast hamartomas are often symptomless, but can cause a change in the shape or feel of the breast. Diagnosis is difficult without a mammogram or X-ray, and surgery is often needed to remove the lump. They are rare, but can have cancerous cells.
The most likely symptom of a breast hamartoma is distortion of the shape or feel of the breast, but this can only occur if the hamartoma is relatively large. Breast hamartomas usually have no symptoms, which can make diagnosis difficult without the use of a mammogram or X-ray. Other possible symptoms of a breast hamartoma include redness of the skin around the breast, visible sores, a bloody discharge or change in the appearance of the nipple, and a lump around the armpit.
Hamartomas are usually benign lesions that occur when an organ grows incorrectly. They can occur in various parts of the body, such as the brain, chest, breasts, liver, and skin. Hamartomas can occur due to other conditions, such as tuberous sclerosis and Cowden’s disease. If a patient has several benign hamartomas, this may be indicative of Proteus syndrome, which is the condition John Merrick suffered from in The Elephant Man.
A breast hamartoma can present with few or no symptoms, so detection can often be very difficult. Overall, breast hamartomas are more common in women over the age of 35, but are still a generally rare condition. The most likely symptom is a change in the shape or feel of the breasts, but this may still be subtle. If hamartoma of the breast has caused a distortion in the shape of the breast, it probably means that the lump is quite large. Most breast hamartomas are only detected when the patient gets a mammogram or X-ray for an unrelated reason.
Other less common symptoms of a breast hamartoma may include visible lesions, redness or dimpling of the skin, bloody nipple discharge, a change in the appearance of the nipple, and swelling of the armpit. These symptoms are less common and generally depend on the precise location of the hamartoma. Some of these symptoms can easily go unnoticed, even if they do occur. For example, skin lesions caused by a breast hamartoma can often be mistaken for a birthmark.
Diagnosing a breast hamartoma depends heavily on mammogram scans, but surgery is often needed to definitively determine the nature of the lump. To treat the condition, the lump will be removed. Also, any distortions in the shape of the breast will be corrected during the surgery. The likelihood of a woman having breast hamartoma is very low; between 0.1 and 0.7 percent of women get them, but they can have cancerous cells in them. Any patient experiencing symptoms of breast hamartoma should see their doctor.
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