Dialogue with the Breasts - Breast Diseases and Breast Beauty

Author: You Kaitao, Han Xiujuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
What is acute mastitis? Over 95% of acute mastitis occurs in women during the 3rd and 4th weeks postpartum, especially in first-time mothers. Because acute mastitis mostly happens during the puerperium, it is called puerperal mastitis or postpartum mastitis. A small number of cases of acute mastitis do not occur during the puerperium, and the patients are not first-time mothers. Some of these patients have experienced breast trauma, leading to internal bleeding and the formation of a hematoma, which then becomes infected. Others develop breast swelling and milk secretion due to a prolactinoma in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, which can also lead to infection. Clinically, there are extremely rare cases of acute mastitis where no clear cause can be identified. We have encountered patients who were young and unmarried, suffering from acute mastitis. Some developed abscesses and required incision and drainage, which did not heal. Upon further inquiry, we found that the patients had a mental illness and were taking sedative medications, which caused abnormal breast development, milk secretion, and subsequent infection, leading to acute mastitis. In such cases, patients or their families should not hide their condition from doctors. If they consult a psychiatrist and switch medications or discontinue them, the mastitis will gradually improve. Doctors must have greater patience when dealing with such patients.
[Case] The patient was a 28-year-old unmarried, childless female with recurrent right breast inflammation. She had undergone two incision and drainage procedures for breast abscesses. Due to the development of a milk fistula, she was treated at a hospital outpatient clinic for a year. Despite multidisciplinary consultations, the cause of the recurrent breast inflammation in this young, unmarried, childless female remained unclear. Finally, the patient's mother informed the doctor that her daughter had schizophrenia and had been taking antipsychotic medications for a long time. The doctor advised the patient's family: Many antipsychotic medications, such as chlorpromazine and perphenazine, can affect the endocrine system, reducing the release of prolactin-inhibiting factors, leading to breast enlargement and milk leakage. The family understood the reason for the recurrent mastitis and the development of the milk fistula. They recommended that the psychiatrist switch medications. After general treatment, the mastitis was completely cured.
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