Effectiveness of homoeopathy for the treatment and management of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis in women: A case series

Introduction: Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis (IGM) is a rare, debilitating, chronic inflammatory disease of the breast, occurring in women of the child-bearing age, which can clinically, and radiologically mimic abscess, tubercular infection or breast cancer. Homoeopathy can treat the disease by addressing its multifactorial origin, given its holistic approach. The paper presents a case series of 11 patients of IGM treated with classical homoeopathy in place of conventional methods. Case Summary: After exclusion of differential diagnosis of inflammatory breast lesions by radiology, and biopsy, the patients were given individualised homoeopathic treatment. Common symptoms were pain, single or multiple lumps, abscesses, sinuses, ulcers and discharge in various patients. Descriptive statistics, clinical observation and patient's feedback were used for analysis. 11patients were followed up for a median period of 24 months. All 11 patients experienced subsidence of the lumps with no recurrence and general improvement in health, without any conventional medication or surgical intervention. The initial experience of resolution of IGM with homoeopathic treatment is encouraging. For an evidence-based evaluation of the results, larger numbers of case studies are required. The key to positive outcome of the case series was meticulous follow up of each patient and intervention with acute homoeopathic remedies, as indicated.