Fibroadenoma Treatment

Fibroadenomas are benign breast tumors frequently detected in young women and monitored by ultrasound. The need for regular follow-up and the presence of a mass within the breast tissue are significant sources of stress for many women. Sometimes, multiple fibroadenomas can be present, a condition called fibroadenomatosis. Fibroadenomas usually require monitoring and do not require treatment. However, fibroadenomas that grow rapidly, cause pain, change shape, or cause palpable hardness should be treated.

Before treatment can begin, a biopsy must first confirm 100% that the lump is a fibroadenoma. Treatment cannot be achieved without a definitive diagnosis. Sometimes, surgery is performed directly without a biopsy to establish the diagnosis. If a tumor other than a fibroadenoma is diagnosed after surgery, a second surgery may be necessary. Therefore, if you have a lump in your breast, a biopsy should be the first step to confirm the diagnosis.

A fibroadenoma biopsy is a procedure easily performed quickly and under ultrasound guidance in experienced hands. If you have it performed by an experienced breast radiologist or interventional radiologist, your biopsy will be performed in a few minutes, and you can get back to your normal routine.

You've had a biopsy of the lump in your breast and it's confirmed to be a fibroadenoma. What Do You Do Now?

In this case, you have two options. You can have your fibroadenoma removed either through traditional surgery or through a 20-minute treatment using modern methods.

At our clinic, we recommend non-surgical fibroadenoma treatment using modern treatment methods to all our patients undergoing fibroadenoma treatment.

Conventional surgical treatment for fibroadenomas carries risks related to the surgery and anesthesia. Surgery, particularly for recurrent fibroadenomas, can be cosmetically and psychologically distressing for many young women. In addition to the risks of repeat surgery and anesthesia, the scars left on the breast skin from the surgery are another source of stress for patients.

With advancing technology, fibroadenomas can now be easily treated non-surgically.

The available non-surgical treatment methods can be categorized into four main categories.

Vacuum Excision Method
Excision with Intact BLES
Treatment with Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)
Ablation Treatments (RF Ablation, Cryoablation)

You can learn the details of these methods from the links below (1,2,3,4).

We successfully use all four methods mentioned above in our clinic. Each method has certain advantages over others, and we choose the procedure based on the individual patient.

The most frequently used method is Vacuum Excision. This new vacuum-assisted technique allows fibroadenomas up to 6 cm in size to be treated in a painless, bloodless procedure lasting just a few minutes.

This method is our primary choice because it is more affordable than both surgical and other non-surgical treatments. Currently, this method is performed by only a small number of interventional radiologists and breast radiologists, making it less widely available in our country. We have been successfully performing non-surgical fibroadenoma treatments in our clinic for eight years.