How do you treat an intraductal papilloma of the breast?

It depends.: Intraductal papillomas are benign tumors found commonly within the nipple ducts. They are often responsible for bloody nipple discharge. Treatment depends on their location within the breast: if it is next to the nipple, it can often be safely watched. In contrast, those found within the periphery of the breast should be surgically removed since they are occasionally next to breast cancer.

Usually exision: If an intraductal papilloma was diagnosed on a needle biopsy, it is best to have surgical excision since on occasions it may be associated with atypical changes (higher risk) or carcinoma (cancer). If it was identified in the breast tissue which has already been excised, that might suffice povided that there were no other lesions requiring additional treatment. If a small solitary papilloma was noted on a vacuum assisted biopsy and if it was noted to be adequately excised, then close observation is not out of order.