[Ductoscopy for pathologic nipple discharge]

Pathologic nipple discharge is a symptom that frequently causes female patients to visit the outpatient breast clinic. In the vast majority of cases, the symptom is caused by a benign intraductal laesion. The options for diagnosis and treatment have long been limited; surgery was not infrequently the treatment of choice. With the advent of breast ductoscopy, a micro-endoscopic procedure, it is possible to visualise abnormalities in the ductal system. Tissue for histopathological investigation can be retrieved from the duct and the condition can be treated. The patient with nipple discharge is consequently prevented from having to undergo an invasive and fairly 'blindly' executed procedure under general anaesthesia. The miniscule dimensions of the duct in which the technique is carried out pose the greatest challenge to the further development of the ductoscope.