Solid axillary masses. Attempts at sonographic differentiation of an axillary lymph node from fibroadenoma

Two patients with axillary masses are presented whose masses had indistinguishable features on mammography and sonography: an enlarged axillary lymph node and a fibroadenoma arising from axillary breast tissue. In one case, the finding of an adjacent smaller mass with the typical echogenic center of a lymph node initially suggested lymphadenopathy, a diagnosis that eventually proved correct. In the second case, the possibility of adenopathy was also a concern; however, excision proved the mass to be a fibroadenoma. The differential diagnosis of axillary lesions in females is presented, along with a discussion of the limits of sonographically distinguishing lymph nodes from parenchymal breast lesions.