Galactography In The Study Of Abnormal Nipple Discharge:

Sherien Hussien El-mahdy

Not all nipple discharge is pathological. Bilateral milky discharge from multiple ducts other than during pregnancy & Lactation, galactorrhoea) is usually endocrinally induced.Unilateral nipple discharge, a rare clinical sign, is more frequently determined by benign breast diseases. It may be associated to breast cancer; for this reason such clinical sign should not be ignored.Non contrast mammography and cytological examination is of limited diagnostic value for abnormal nipple discharge Hence, the importance of galactography to diagnose ductal pathology.This study carried out thirty female patients presenting with nipple discharge. 73.4% of cases were in the age group 30-50 years. All cases were examined clinically and mammographically. 23% of cases were complaining of palpable mass. Galactography were performed for all cases. Galactography technique show failure rate of 6.7%.The result of galactography revealed that duct ectasia occurs in frequency of 78.3% of cases. Papilloma in 76.9% of cases. While beading has frequency of 69.2%. 86.7% of cases complain moderatedischarge had ductectasia.89SummaryOnly 66.7% of cases complain of mild discharge had duct ectasia. All cases of sever nipple discharge showed duct ectasia -the colour of discharge may be bloody, yellowish, serous, brown or mixed.The highest percentage of papilloma were found in cases complaining of brown discharge (66.7%).All pathological conditions diagnosed by galactography occur on the left side more frequently than on the right side.It is concluded that galactography technique is a simple technique can be used as a screening procedure for diagnosis of duct pathology in cases complaining of nipple discharge. It is not harmful with minimal side effects. Hence a program for accepting galactography technique as a simple diagnostic technique for cases of nipple discharge is recommended.