PREOPERATIVE METHYLENE-BLUE STAINING OF GALACTOGRAPHICALLY SUSPICIOUSBREAST-LESIONS

Microdochectomy is the standard treatment of galactographically suspic ious breast lesions. Precise preoperative marking of the suspicious du ct and intraductal lesions facilitates selective minimal-volume microd ochectomy. Methylene blue dye staining fulfills this criterion. A retr ospective review of our experience of preoperative methylene blue stai ning in 30 patients with unilateral spontaneous nonlactiferous single duct nipple discharge operated on during 1986-1995 in the Oulu Univers ity Hospital for galactographically suspicious breast lesions, Galacto graphy was successful in 29 out of 30 (93.3%) cases. Preoperative meth ylene blue staining was attempted in all cases on the day of surgery a nd it was successful in 22 (73.3%) cases making subsequent selective m inimal-volume microdochectomy easy to perform. The failure of methylen e blue staining led to quadrantectomy in 4 cases and smaller breast re sections in the remaining 4 cases. Preoperative methylene blue dye sta ining crucially facilitates selective minimal-volume microdochectomy. An interval between primary galactography and later methylene blue sta ining leads to failures in approximately one quarter of the eases. A h igher success rate would necessitate scheduling the microdochectomy on the same day as the primary galactography (and the subsequent methyle ne blue staining in suspicious cases).