The benign changes in the breast are also described. Significant duct hyperplasia, especially if atypia is present, places the patient at an increased risk of subsequent breast carcinoma. When clinically indicated, the entire breast is removed. There are several types of mastectomy and all of these operations remove the entire breast. The pathologist evaluates mastectomies similar to biopsies.
Ink is applied to the surgical margin and the tissue is serially sectioned and inspected.
If there has been a previous biopsy, the surgical incision and biopsy cavity are described. Since the entire specimen cannot be examined microscopically, standard sections are submitted. If present, the biopsy cavity is generously sampled looking for residual tumor. Additional suspicious areas are also taken for microscopic evaluation. Finally, representative sections of each of the four breast quadrants, skin and nipple are submitted for review.