Conversing with the Breasts: Breast Diseases and Breast Beauty

Author: You Kaitao, Han Xiujuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The breast is a vital organ and a reproductive organ for women. Surveys show that 48.7% of women suffer from various breast diseases, with its incidence rate far exceeding that of any other chronic disease, ranking at the top. This is the final work of Director You Kaitao. Shortly after completing a radical mastectomy for breast cancer on a 100-year-old patient—once again venturing into the forbidden zone of the medical industry—he left the operating table where he had demonstrated his talent for 39 years due to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. Ten years after publishing "100 Questions About Breast Health" in Taiwan, he had been tirelessly exploring the field, and finally, as a supervisor of graduate students, he wrote this highly accessible popular book, answering 211 questions of public concern through the form of a dialogue with the breast. In the afterlife, he can continue to benefit patients and enlighten the masses through this work.
This book begins by introducing the physiological structure and functions of the female breast, then briefly explains the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of common breast diseases in women through a Q&A format. It also covers the causes, clinical manifestations, early diagnosis, and effective treatment of breast cancer. Based on 38 years of clinical experience and combining the latest advancements in clinical and research from around the world, the authors wrote this book with a balance of practicality and simplicity, science and popularization, aiming to guide women in correctly understanding and actively preventing breast diseases. This book will undoubtedly become a trusted guide and companion for women of all ages, and it will also be widely welcomed and cherished by people from all walks of life who care about women's health. For medical students, community healthcare workers, maternal and child health care providers, surgeons, gynecologists, and oncologists who are passionate about learning and researching breast diseases, this is an invaluable reference book.
21. What is acute mastitis? Over 95% of acute mastitis occurs in women during the third and fourth weeks after childbirth, especially in first-time mothers. Because acute mastitis mostly occurs during the postpartum period, it is called postpartum mastitis or puerperal mastitis. There are also a few cases of acute mastitis that occur outside the postpartum period, and the patients are not first-time mothers. Some of these patients have experienced breast trauma, leading to internal bleeding and subsequent infection of the hematoma. Others may develop prolactinomas in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, causing breast swelling and milk secretion, which can also lead to infection. In extremely rare cases, the cause of acute mastitis cannot be identified. We have encountered patients who were young, unmarried, and suffered from acute mastitis. Some developed abscesses and required incision and drainage, which did not heal repeatedly. Upon further inquiry, we learned that the patients had 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 medical history from doctors. If they consult a psychiatrist and switch medications or discontinue them, the mastitis will gradually improve. Doctors must exercise greater patience with such patients.
Case
Patient: 28-year-old female, unmarried, and childless. She had recurrent right breast mastitis and underwent two incision and drainage procedures for breast abscesses. Due to the development of a milk fistula, she was treated in a hospital outpatient clinic for a year. Despite multidisciplinary consultations, the cause of the recurrent mastitis in this young, unmarried, and childless woman remained unclear.
Finally, the patient's mother informed the doctors that her daughter had schizophrenia and had been taking psychiatric medications for a long time. The doctors advised the patient's family: Many psychiatric 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 cause of the recurrent mastitis and the milk fistula, and they recommended that the psychiatrist switch medications. After general treatment, the mastitis was completely cured.
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