ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Needle aspiration, followed by excision should it recur, is the standard method of treating galactocele. Villagers in Northeast Thailand traditionally treat galactocele by probing the obstructed duct with double strands of pleated human hair. The aim of the study was to mimic this method in order to scientifically assess its effectiveness. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Sixteen patients were consecutively enrolled between 1995 and 2001. They elected either standard needle aspiration (Group A) or treatment by 6-0 nylon probing (Group B). The results were compared using the Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney tests at p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: The two groups were similar regarding the children's age, first para, mass size, and duration of symptoms, but patients in the aspiration group were considerably younger than the nylon probing group. Both methods reduced the symptoms completely. Pain from treatment was reported by all patients in the aspiration method while there were none in the nylon probing method (p < 0.001). The aspiration method took 14.8 minutes less time than the nylon probing method (p < 0.001). Recurrence was found in 2 out of 5 patients in the aspiration method, whereas there was none in the 11 patients with the nylon probing method (difference = 40%; 95% CI: -3% to 83%; p = 0.083). CONCLUSIONS: The new treatment of galactocele by nylon probing took longer than aspiration but removed the protein plug that caused obstruction of the duct without pain and had a tendency to reduce the recurrence rate.