Mercy Health Physician and Breast Surgeon Hilary Shapiro-Wright Brings Ductoscopy Skills and Experience to Cincinnati for Patients with Pathologic Discharge
(CINCINNATI; May 1, 2013) – Nipple discharge is an alarming physical phenomenon to anyone who experiences it. Usually it’s the result of something benign but in the cases where it’s not, Mercy Health, which provides quality care with compassion in your neighborhood through its network of care, offers minimally invasive ductoscopy as a treatment option for patients who need it.
“Nipple discharge is among the most common breast problems,” says Mercy Health Physician and breast surgeon Hilary Shapiro-Wright, DO, a fellowship-trained and experienced ductoscopy expert. “Our first step is to determine if the discharge is pathologic. Pathologic discharge warrants further investigation.”
Pathologic discharge is typically unilateral (from one side), spontaneous, bloody and/or associated with a mass. This type of discharge tends to stem from one duct, most often as the result of an intraductal papilloma, a small, noncancerous tumor that grows in a milk duct of the breast.
Ductoscopy, which Dr. Shapiro-Wright describes as a “colonoscopy of the breast,” enables her to look inside the duct that’s creating the discharge and isolate the duct involved. Dr. Shapiro-Wright can then remove the lesion right then and there. She uses a tiny, four-millimeter fiber optic camera for the procedure, which lasts up to 90 minutes and takes place in an operating room with patients under sedation and local anesthetic.
“With ductoscopy, I can see cancer even before it’s a palpable mass and remove it and the involved tissue area,” says Shapiro-Wright.
Dr. Shapiro-Wright notes that ductoscopy has numerous benefits for patients.
“Unlike other methods for treating pathologic nipple discharge, ductoscopy is very precise and requires only a small incision, minimizing the tissue that a surgeon needs to remove. This decreases the risk for nipple loss and for complications. It is less disruptive to the duct infrastructure, looks better cosmetically and women of childbearing age can still breast feed after the procedure,” she says.
Dr. Shapiro-Wright sees patients at Mercy Health – Kenwood Breast Surgery, located at 4700 East Galbraith Road, Suite 105, Cincinnati 45236. To learn more about Dr. Shapiro-Wright or to schedule an appointment, please call 513-924-8535 or visit www.e-mercy.com.
