Breast Cancer Test Mission Viejo, Orange County, CA - Breast Care Specialists Dr. Curcio - Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Aliso Viejo, Brea, Buena Park, California

Ductal Lavage

The pap smear test for the breast.

This test used by Dr. Curcio at Advanced Breast Care Specialists is used for women who have no symptoms of breast cancer but are at very high risk for breast cancer.

Ductal lavage is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to sample cells within the ducts of the breast where the majority of breast cancers occur. During the ductal lavage procedure, breast cells are removed by a catheter (thin tube) from the milk duct (nipple) in the breast.

Ductal lavage is done in our office. Most women experience little or no discomfort while having this procedure. An anesthetic cream is applied to numb the nipple area and gentle suction is used to help draw tiny amounts of fluid from the milk ducts up to the nipple surface. This procedure identifies any ducts that produce fluid using a device similar to a breast pump. If a duct produces fluid, it is more likely to have abnormal cells. The ductal fluid is withdrawn through a small catheter. Saline is then sent through the catheter into the ducts to wash the ducts and collect cells. These breast duct cells are then sent to pathology for microscopic analysis to identify atypical cells.

Dr. Curcio recommends that women who are considered at increased risk for the development of breast cancer undergo a ductal lavage procedure. Women who have the following risk factors:

Strong family history
A history of a previous breast cancer
Women who have undergone genetic testing and have been found to have the BRCA1 OR BRCA2 gene and certain other conditions.

This test is NOT a test designed to diagnose breast cancer, but rather take patients who are at increased risk and stratify their risk to be able to better determine which, if any, intervention they would optimally benefit from.

Contact Dr. Lisa Curcio to discuss your risk for breast cancer . Dr. Curcio is a breast cancer heredity risk specialist and she can advise you on your breast cancer risk.

Visit "Advanced Breast Care Specialists of Orange County" in Mission Viejo, California.