Value of Fiberoptic Ductoscopy in Diagnosing and Treating Multiporous Nipple Discharge DOI 10.1007/s11805-008-0211-3

OBJECTIVE To explore the value of fiberoptic ductoscopy in diagnosing and treating bilateral and polyporous nipple discharge (ND). METHODS Fiberoptic ductoscopy was conducted in 29 patients with bilateral and polyporous ND. After the ductoscopy, the patients with intraductal papilloma (IDP) underwent a surgical procedure, and the others, identifi ed with galactostasis, mammary duct ectasia (MDE) and obstructive galactophoritis (OG), received a ductoscopy-guided interventional therapy. RESULTS Among 29 cases, and with 79 galactophores examined, IDP was found in 11 cases (37.9 % of the total cases), or 13.9 % of the galactopores examined. IDP was found in 9 of 11 cases with a bloody nipple discharge, while IDP was seen in 2 of the 18 cases with a non-bloody nipple discharge. The excision accuracy achieved 100 % in the cases, and postoperative pathological diagnosis accordance rate reached 88.9%. CONCLUSION Fiberoptic ductoscopy has many features such as ability to see the lesion, and accurate preoperative localization, thus eliminating excessive excision of tissue during surgery. For most patients with ND, especially those suff ering galactostasis, OG or MDE, washout under fi beroptic ductoscopy and interventional therapy may achieve a thorough cure of the disease. KEY WORDS: fiberoptic ductoscopy, polyporous nipple discharge, diagnosis, treatment