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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffComplications of mammary duct ectasia are usually minor and often more bothersome than serious. These may include:
- Nipple discharge. Nipple discharge caused by mammary duct ectasia can be frustrating. Fluid leaking from your nipples can cause embarrassing wetness and staining on your clothes.
- Breast discomfort. Mammary duct ectasia can cause redness, swelling and tenderness around your nipples.
- Infection. A bacterial infection such as mastitis may develop in the affected milk duct, sometimes causing you to have pain in or around your nipple or to feel ill and have a fever. Untreated infection could lead to an abscess — a collection of pus in your breast tissue — that may require surgical drainage.
- Concern about breast cancer. When you notice a change in your breast, you may immediately start to worry that it's a sign of breast cancer. That fear can be particularly hard to shake if you develop a hard lump around a milk duct affected by mammary duct ectasia. It's important to remember that mammary duct ectasia is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
References
- Non-cancerous breast conditions. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Non_Cancerous_Breast_Conditions_59.asp?sitearea=CRI&viewmode=print&. Accessed May 14, 2010.
- Hari S, et al. Bilateral severe mammary duct ectasia. Acta Radiologica. 2007;48:398.
- Understanding breast changes: A health guide for women. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understanding-breast-changes. Accessed May 14, 2010.
- Rosen PP. Inflammatory and reactive tumors. In: Rosen PP. Rosen's Breast Pathology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009:33.
- Guray M, et al. Benign breast diseases: Classification, diagnosis, and management. The Oncologist. 2006;11:435.
- Santen RJ, et al. Benign breast disorders. New England Journal of Medicine. 2005;353:275.
- Miltenberg DM, et al. Benign breast disease. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America. 2008;35:285.
- Pruthi SP (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 19, 2010.
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