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BIOPSY -A Patient's Guide
Editorial Team
What is a biopsy?
A biopsy is a procedure in which a small piece of body
tissue is removed for the purpose of microscopic examination.
The size of the sample varies depending on the organ from
which it is taken and the nature of the illness. The procedure
may require a local or general anaesthetic.
Once a biopsy specimen is obtained, it is sent to a pathologist
who will examine it and provide a report describing the
specimen and suggesting the most likely diagnosis.
Types of biopsies
A biopsy can be performed on any organ in the body. Brief
descriptions of the some of the more common types of biopsies
follow:
1) Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) Biopsy
This simple technique is often used for breast lumps. A
fine gauge needle is inserted into a lump and some cells
are drawn up into a syringe and then smeared on a microscope
slide and sent to a pathologist for examination. The procedure
takes only a few minutes .
Usually the procedure is not very painful and local anaesthetic
in the skin also may helpful.
FNA biopsies can also be done for deep organs (such as
the liver, for example), usually under guidance by ultrasound
or CT scan and performed by a radiologist.
2) Endoscopic biopsy
This type of biopsy is performed at the time of having
an endoscopy, for example gastroscopy (examination of the
stomach)or colonoscopy(large bowel). A doctor performing
an endoscopy might see an abnormal area and be able to take
small pieces of tissue with a pair of forceps attached to
a long cable which runs inside the fibreoptic endoscope.
3) Punch biopsy
This technique is often used to sample skin rashes and
small lumps. After injection of local anaesthetic, a small
cylindrical piece of tissue is removed with the use of a
specially designed instrument.
4) Bone Marrow Biopsy
As blood cells are manufactured in the bone marrow, a bone
marrow biopsy may be required in some cases of abnormal
blood counts. In adults, the sample is usually taken from
the pelvic bone. The procedure involves the patient lying
on his/her stomach and having a local anaesthetic injection
in a buttock, before a needle is inserted through the skin
into the bone marrow and cells are drawn up by suction from
the syringe. This part of the procedure (aspiration) is
often followed by a 'core biopsy', which involves using
a slightly larger needle to extract core of bone. The aspiration
is usually the more painful part.
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