a 31-year - old female patient consulted to our outpatient clinic because of a mass protruding from her right nipple . on her breast examination , an 8 mm prolapsed mass was seen on the right breast areola ( figure 1 ) . during physical examination any abnormality was not detected on other parts of the breast , and her left breast . from her personal and family medical history her breast ultrasonographic ( us ) examination demonstrated an avascular , hypoechoic prolapsed solid mass measuring 8x5 mm which filled the areolar region completely . based on physical , and us examination findings surgery was planned with the initial diagnosis of intraductal papilloma . the prolapsed mass , minimal portion of the overlying areolar skin and communicating ductus were totally excised under local anesthesia . histopathological examination of the specimen revealed intraductal papilloma without atypical dysplasia ( figure 2 ) . any postoperative complication did not develop , and any recurrence was not seen during 2 years of follow - up . intraductal papillomas ( ip ) are benign tumours which develop as a result of papillary proliferation of the ductal epithelium . its incidence is 2 - 3% , and it is seen between 30 , and 77 years of age . central type is a solitary ip which settles in the subareaolar region , and it is observed in perimenauposal women . peripheral type is situated on the proximal parts of the laciferous ducts of young female patients and tends to be multiple . however , the patient consulted to the physician at an earlier stage because of the protruding characteristics of the mass . although it is generally localized in the breast tissue , and subareolar region , in our case , it protruded from the nipple of the patient . intramammary masses are detected by us , and the diagnosis is conclusively confirmed by biopsy . radiological imaging techniques are helpful in establishing the diagnosis , however for the discrimination between benign , and malign lesions core needle biopsy should be performed . treatment of intraductal papillomas consists of total excision . since the mass lesion of our patient was protruding , total excision was performed both for diagnosis , and treatment . if intramammary ip lesion can be located using radiological techniques , then excision , without needle biopsy is recommended . core biopsy is recommended for cases with radiologically suspect malignancy or in the presence of microcalcification , and distorted tissue ultrastructure . if small papillary lesions can be totally excised , and histopathologic examination does not reveal any evidence of atypia , then the patient can be followed up with us , and mammographic monitorization . in the differential diagnosis , nipple adenoma , and papillary lesion , paget s disease , eczematous dermatitis , and pyogenic granuloma histopathological differentiaton of the excised mass can be achieved . if untreated , papillary lesion of the nipple also protrudes . paget s disease , and eczema can be discriminated from other lesions with their characteristic cutaneous incrustrations . ip prolapsed from the nipple is a rarely seen abnormality . for its diagnosis , and treatment ,