Post-operative scarring on ultrasound can mimic which condition?

• A. Carcinoma
• B. Hemangioma
• C. Lipoma
• D. Fibroadenoma

Answer: (A)

Postoperative scarring can resemble a malignant recurrence on ultrasound because healing scar tissue often shows irregular, ill-defined or even spiculated margins and a heterogeneous or hypoechoic appearance, sometimes with posterior acoustic shadowing and architectural distortion. These features overlap with how a cancerous lesion can look, especially within the surgical bed where tissues are reorganizing. In the healing phase there may also be variable vascularity on Doppler, which can further mimic malignancy.

Understanding this helps explain why scar deserves careful comparison with prior studies and, if there is any doubt, why serial imaging or tissue sampling may be needed. By contrast, benign entities like a hemangioma typically appears as a well-circumscribed lesion with distinct echotexture, lipomas are usually isoechoic or hyperechoic and compressible, and fibroadenomas are often oval, well-defined, and homogeneous; these features are less likely to be confused with scar.