post op check ups

[jays67]

My sister had a benign phyllodes tumor removed in Nov with no margin removed.  She just returned for a 3 month ultrasound check up and it showed a 2 cm "area" to watch.  They want to do another ultrasound in 3 months to see if there are any changes then make a decision about any further treatment.  Could this "area" be trauma or scar tissue from the previous surgery or is it possible that the PT is returning.  It also showed a
7 mm area that may be a solid or fluid. Just wondering while we wait for the next test.  Thank you.

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear jays67, It is difficult to say what this could be, both scenario's are possiblities.  If the margin's were not clear based on the pathology findings, there would be more concern that this might be tumor.  Having it rechecked to make sure it is not increasing in size makes sense.

[surgeon]

I'd say it would be very difficult to draw conclusions from something that showed on ultrasound 3 monts postop; it certainly could be scar tissue. I'd consider it more of a new baseline, and would think that repeat after more time is a very reasonable thing; especiallly since a phyllodes tumor is not malignant. With clear margins, recurrance within 3 months would be unusual.