Conventional Galactography and MR Contrast Galactography for Diagnosing Nipple Discharge: Preliminary Results

Abstract

ObjectiveWe wanted to compare the clinical usefulness of conventional galactography and MR contrast galactography for diagnosing patients with nipple discharge.Materials and MethodsBoth conventional galactography and MR contrast galactography were performed prospectively in 16 patients. Gadopentate dimeglumine (0.1 ml) was mixed with non-ionic contrast medium (0.9 ml) to obtain a resultant volume of 1 ml and this was used for both examinations. Following conventional galactography, MR contrast galactography was performed after direct injection of contrast media into the duct.ResultsConventional galactography and MR contrast galactography were concordant in 13 (81%) of 16 patients; the results were normal in five, ductal dilatation was noted in four and intraductal filling defects were noted in four. The remaining three (19%) patients demonstrated discordant findings on the two examinations. While conventional galactography revealed filling defects, the MR contrast galactography results were normal in two patients. The third patient had kinks-stricture on conventional galactography and MR contrast galactography showed ductal dilatation. This suggested there were false positive results for the three patients' conventional galactography, and all the three patients with discordant results underwent surgery and the histopathologic evaluation showed fibrocystic changes.ConclusionMR contrast galactography may be used as an alternative imaging modality for making the diagnosis of pathologic nipple discharge. However, statistically supported studies with large pools of subjects for comparing the galactography and MR contrast galactography results are needed to confirm our findings.

Breast MRI in Patients with Unilateral Bloody and Serous-Bloody Nipple Discharge: A Comparison with Galactography

“…In 1997 Yoshimoto et al [ 29 ] performed MRI contrast galactography after galactography in a patient, and the contrast material was injected both intravenously and into the discharging duct. Yücesoy et al [ 30 ] compared conventional galacto-graphy with MRI contrast galactography in a prospective study performed with 16 patients showing 81% concordance between the two methods; their data suggest that MRI contrast galactography could be used as an alternative imaging modality for the pathologic nipple discharge diagnosis.…”

3D-MR Ductography and Contrast-Enhanced MR Mammography in Patients with Suspicious Nipple Discharge; a Feasibility Study

“…Contrast‐enhanced MRI (ce‐MRI) may be useful in women with nipple discharge though only small series have been reported . Techniques have been described to use MR ductography with cannulation and injection of Gadopentetate Dimeglumine (Gd‐DTPA) directly into the discharging duct . However, this technique does not save the patient the discomfort of cannulation and may fail due to the same issues as conventional galactography (CG).…”

La galacto-IRM : une nouvelle méthode d’exploration des écoulements mamelonnaires

“…Cette technique, qui ne faisait jusqu'alors l'objet que de quelques publications marginales, connaît depuis quelques mois un essor notable. On retrouve en particulier plusieurs travaux consacrés à la galacto-IRM publiés dans des grandes revues radiologiques internationales [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Une revue de la littérature consacrée à ce sujet permet d'identifier plusieurs techniques de galacto-IRM.…”

“…Elle consiste en une opacification première du canal responsable de l'écoulement mamelonnaire à l'aide d'un produit de contraste gadoliné suivie d'une IRM mammaire avec ou sans injection intraveineuse de gadolinium [16,17,22,25].…”