Nipple Discharge Diagnosis and Treatment at Mercy in Baltimore

Most women, in all stages of life, experience a small amount of discharge from their nipples upon squeezing the breast even if they are not pregnant and even during a normal period. It is common to experience a small amount of nipple discharge that varies in color from white, yellow, green to brown. Nipple discharge is often due to a benign growth from the lining of the ducts in the breasts, but in a small number of cases is due to a malignant growth and requires further work-up.

You should call your doctor when the nipple discharge is a large amount, spontaneous, clear or bloody. To diagnose the cause of nipple discharge, your doctor will likely order a mammogram or sonogram.

Most of the time the cause of nipple discharge is benign (non-cancerous). If no abnormalities are found after a mammogram or sonogram, your doctor may perform a ductoscopy, to aid with identifying the position of the growth, and then remove the growth (called excision). If an abnormality (potential cancer) is found on one of your tests, your breast surgeon will work with you to determine the best course of action to treat the breast disease.