Purpose or Case Report: Introduction: Breast pathology in pediatrics is rare and mostly benign, though it often causes significant concern for parents and the medical team, posing a clinical and radiological diagnostic challenge. To accurately identify abnormalities, it is essential to understand breast development and its pathological conditions, which vary depending on age and sex.
Objective: To review the ultrasound findings of common and uncommon breast lesions in the pediatric population.
Development: This review will address the main pathological conditions affecting the breast from the neonatal period to adolescence. As in adults, pediatric breast pathology can be benign or malignant, with benign conditions being far more common at this age. We present cases related to breast development, such as neonatal thelarche, ductal ectasia in infants, gynecomastia, pseudogynecomastia, precocious thelarche, and congenital anomalies such as Poland syndrome. Regarding inflammatory pathology, we include neonatal mastitis, abscesses, eczema, and complicated cysts. Among the cystic lesions, we review galactocele and retroareolar cysts in adolescents, while for solid lesions, we highlight fibroadenoma and granular cell tumors. Although malignant breast lesions are rare in pediatrics, we illustrate cases of metastasis and carcinoma. Finally, we present differential diagnoses of pectoral region pathology, such as pilomatrixoma, hemangioma, and lymphatic malformation.
Conclusion: Most pathological findings in the pediatric breast are benign, and many are associated with developmental variants. These conditions present diverse manifestations that often cause concern, underscoring the importance of recognizing their ultrasound features and various etiologies.
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