Clinical effect of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation in the treatment of 60 patients with non-puerperal mastitis.

Background: The incidence of non-puerperal mastitis (NPM) is increasing but treatment is not consistent, and relapse is common.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation in the treatment of NPM.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the data of 60 patients with NPM who had undergone microwave ablation treatment at the Nantong University Affiliated Hospital from September 2020 to June 2022. Among them, 20 (33.3%) opted for outpatient treatment, and 40 (66.7%) were treated as inpatients. The mean age of the patients was 34 ± 8.74 years. The duration of follow-up was 6-18 (median: 9) months. Follow-up parameters included time to remission of acute clinical symptoms, breast ultrasonography findings, breast skin appearance and beauty scores, patient satisfaction, adverse events, and recurrence rates.

Results: All 60 patients were successfully treated with microwave ablation. During the follow-up, ultrasound showed that the average maximum diameter of the lesions gradually decreased while the echogenicity of the lesions gradually increased. The time to clinical relief from acute symptoms was 10.78 ± 8.86 days. The cure rate was 93.3% (56/60), and the improvement rate was 6.7% (4/60). The breast appearance beauty score was 8.45 ± 1.17, the patient satisfaction rate was 93.3% (56/60), the incidence of adverse events was 31.7% (19/60), and the recurrence rate was 1.67% (1/60).

Conclusion: Microwave ablation is a direct and effective method for the treatment of NPM, with significant curative effects, less trauma, quick recovery, high patient satisfaction, and low recurrence rate. Thus, it provides clinicians with a new option to treat NPM.