Carolyn-
    This mother with the unrelosved *plugged duct*  makes me nervous.  A
plugged duct that doesn't resolve with warm soaks, massage, and nursing with
the baby's chin pointed toward the plug may not be a plugged duct at all
(especially if cabbage placed over the area  doesn't help).  You stated that
her husband the radiologist aspirated fluid and that it felt better, but
returned.  I wonder what kind of fluid...a lactocele isl usually filled up
with thick  curdy looking  stuff as opposed to fluid initially.   According
to Lawrence (pg 259), it can be surgically removed under local anesthesia
without stopping the breastfeeding.
But I  would refer this mom to a breast surgeon---one her knows her way
around a lactating breast. If it's not mastitis, plugged duct, or a
galctocele, she needs to find out right away what it is. I know that you
didn't have many options in this situation, with all the *help* from her
husband and his colleagues. Is it likely that she will let you know  what
happens?  If so, please share.
Thanks!  -Debi Ferrarello, RN, IBCLC
ps-How's he going to run a wire up a nipple pore like an angioplasty?  The
pores are so tiny and lead into the sinuses, in my understanding.  Is she a
guinea pig?  Would we do this to a guinea pit?