Traditional treatment of lactational breast abscesses involves incision and drainage, with or without ultrasonographic guidance. These procedures cause considerable discomfort and morbidity for the patients. We conducted a prospective, randomized, clinical study to evaluate the clinical value of minimally invasive therapy for draining lactational breast abscesses. Eighty-six lactating patients with breast abscesses were treated using needle drainage, micro-incision drainage, or traditional incision drainage followed by administration of an anti-staphylococcal antibiotic and daily dressing changes. The treatment outcomes were compared among the three groups. The needle drainage group had obvious advantages in regard to the pain score, healing time, and dressing changes. A few patients in the traditional incision drainage group experienced complications. The failure rate was obviously higher in patients whose abscess diameter exceeded 5 cm (P < 0.01). In conclusion, minimally invasive therapy has value in the treatment of breast abscess, especially in patients with a small abscess cavity.