The operative management of intraductal papilloma of the breast.

Intraductal papillary tumors of the breast exhibit bloody nipple discharge with often no evidence of a palpable tumor, making discrimination between benign and malignant lesions sometimes difficult for pathologists and surgeons. However, appropriate surgical management requires correct differentiation between these lesions. According to previously reported 3-dimensional analyses of intraductal papillary lesions, solitary papilloma originates in the large ducts while multiple papilloma originates in the peripheral ducts and often coexists with intraductal carcinoma. We performed selected ductolobular segmentectomy on both solitary and multiple intraductal papilloma, and even on small foci of intraductal carcinoma which were found inadvertently. The favorable results of this surgery include a fine cosmetic appearance, functional breast feeding and no recurrence of papilloma during the 2 to 7 year follow-up period. In this article, the operative method of selected ductolobular segmentectomy is described.