COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAMMOGRAPHIC AND ANTHROPOMETRIC BREAST VOLUME MEASUREMENTS PREOPERATIVELY WITH POST-MASTECTOMY SPECIMEN VOLUME IN CARCINOMA BREAST PATIENTS

Abstract

Objective: A precise measurement of breast volume is a critical component of preoperative planning for achieving breast symmetry, particularly in women undergoing breast-conserving surgery with oncoplastic reconstruction. Carcinoma breast is the most prevalent form of malignancy in women and its treatment continues to evolve with emphasis to individual care. The aim of this study was to assess the precision of mammographic and anthropometric methods for measuring breast volume, with post-mastectomy specimen volume functioning as the analysis’s control.

Methods: Breast volume was measured preoperatively using mammography and anthropometric (anatomic) methods, and specimen volume was measured using the water displacement method (Archimedes) after a total mastectomy. The study enrolled 126 breast cancer patients admitted for total mastectomy for a period of 12 months. The findings obtained were statistically compared with the values acquired using the other two approaches.

Results: The volume of the specimen from a mastectomy was a mean of 791.67 mL (range: 504.6–980.6). The anthropometric approach yielded values of 807.76 mL (493.7–971.2) for breast volume, whereas the mammographic method yielded 786.81 mL (488.6–956.1) values. Paired t-test analysis revealed that the mammographic measurement method of breast volume measurement was more accurate in all volume and age groups compared to the anthropometric method, with a significant p<0.001.

Conclusion: Mammography was shown to be the most accurate approach for measuring breast volume before surgical intervention, as evidenced by the current study when compared to the anthropometric method.