Has anyone heard the term "dilated duct" used to soothe a mother with
a breast lump?  Luckily investigation was also done, but I'll give you the
info I have received from the mother, with her permission to post.  Her
father-in-law thinks it's from over-usage!

*************
"The results of my ultrasound confirmed the doctor's diagnosis (either dilated
duct or mild mastitis).  I still have the lump, which seems to get bigger and
harder during menstruation. I first noticed it in November - sort of hard, yet
slightly movable and it was just at the end of a period.  My doctor described it
as "smooth and sausage shaped" and she said it would probably just go away!
It is not painful  at all, and it's situated just off centre of my nipple.

I had mild mastitis in the same breast a few years ago from hitting a full
breast whilst trying to pull a cork out of a bottle!.  My son, however,
complained when my periods started again about 4 months ago that the
milk on the side that now has a lump was "yucky drink".

On the ultrasound the lump looked very uneven and unlike, to me, a
"dilated duct" - but I'm certainly no expert on reading scans!!  They also
established that there was a blood supply to it, although this could just be
because I'm lactating or where there are blood vessels anyway."

************
This question has made me think about how lumps stay behind after mastitis,
or how galactoceles form. Is this the "varicose vein" of the milk duct system?
Nothing I have read indicates that this is a problem - except perhaps to the
nursling who notices a change in the flavour of the milk.

Jacquie Nutt IBCLC

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