Evaluation of Non-Surgical Treatment of Breast Abscess

Breast abscess represents a severe complication of mastitis encountered in lactating and non-lactating women. While traditional management relied on incision and drainage, modern approaches emphasize minimally invasive non-surgical treatment using ultrasound-guided needle aspiration combined with appropriate antibiotics to minimize morbidity, accelerate healing, avoid fistula formation, and preserve breastfeeding. This prospective observational study will be conducted at the Department of General Surgery, Sohag University Hospitals. Eligible female patients presenting with lactational or non-lactational breast abscesses will undergo initial non-surgical treatment with ultrasound-guided needle aspiration/re-aspiration with or without catheter drainage plus culture-guided antibiotic therapy. Patients will be followed up clinically and sonographically for 4 weeks to evaluate treatment success, time to resolution, complication rates, and predictors associated with treatment failure requiring surgical intervention.

Inclusion criteria

• Adult female patients diagnosed with lactational and non-lactational breast abscesses on clinical and sonographic grounds.
• Patients undergoing initial non-surgical treatment in the form of ultrasound-guided aspiration/re-aspiration with or without catheter drainage plus systemic antibiotics.

Exclusion criteria

• Suspicion of inflammatory breast cancer or underlying breast malignancy.
• Frank skin necrosis, thinning, or ruptured abscess overlying the affected breast.
• Patients with breast implants in situ on the affected side.
• History of breast surgery within 90 days of presentation.
• Chronic or recurrent breast abscesses.