Solitary ductal papilloma of the breast, although considered a benign disorder has a potential association with carcinomas. We studied and analyzed the role of selective ductectomy (SD) for the diagnosis and treatment of intraductal lesions presenting with single duct discharge and ductography suggestive of intraductal (papillary) lesions. During a ten-year-period, files of patients presenting with single (or rarely dual) duct discharge were retrospectively reviewed. The examinations included mammography, ductography and ultrasonography and cytology of the fluid discharged from the duct in all patients. Patients treated with SD were considered further and their histological diagnosis and treatment were analyzed. The series included 100 patients. In 6 cases malignancy was found in the specimen consisting of four in situ and two invasive ductal carcinomas. These 6 patients had a second operation and this was followed by adjuvant treatment. Nine further patients had atypical ductal hyperplasia in or around papillomas and one patient had lobular neoplasia around her papilloma. In the present series, the incidence of carcinoma associated with the clinical suspicion of papillary lesions was 6%, and further 10% had low grade neoplastic proliferations resulting in the diagnosis of atypical papillomas or atypical ductal hyperplasia or lobular neoplasia around the papilloma, indicating that single duct discharge may be a symptom a malignancy, and that ductal papillomas have malignant potential. For such a low risk and grade of malignancy simple follow-up could be one option, but in some cases SD could be applied to relieve the patients from symptoms and establish a diagnosis.