A biopsy is a procedure for taking a piece of tissue for testing. After tissue is removed, it is sent to a lab where it is examined under a microscope or tested. Biopsies help diagnose infections, cancer, and other diseases. The way they are done depends on the part of the body and tissue needed. Some tissue can be removed simply with a needle. Other biopsies may involve passing a thin scope into the body. Others may be done during surgery.
Common types of biopsies are:
A skin biopsy is the removal of a small piece of skin. The biopsy may be done with different types of knives or a tool like a razor blade. Three types of skin biopsies are:
A shave biopsy may require very little or no numbing. For other types of skin biopsies you are usually given a shot of a local anesthetic to numb the area that will be cut.
For a needle biopsy you are given an anesthetic to numb your skin. Then your provider puts a long, very thin but hollow needle through the skin into the organ needing a biopsy. This method may be used, for example, for a breast or liver biopsy. Sometimes it is done using X-rays or ultrasound. This helps your provider put the needle in exactly the right place. A core biopsy uses a slightly larger needle to remove a small, solid core of tissue. Tissue is sucked into the needle and sent to the lab.
Endoscopic biopsy can be used to get samples of internal organs, including the digestive system, the lungs, and the bladder. These biopsies are done with a long, thin, flexible, lighted tube. The tube may be passed into the mouth, rectum, or urethra, depending on where the abnormal tissue is.
Laparoscopic biopsy is a special type of endoscopic biopsy. The laparoscope is put through a tiny cut in your belly. The laparoscope is very much like the endoscope. It allows many of the organs in the abdomen to be seen and biopsied with the use of tools that fit through the opening of the scope or another small cut in the belly. It is also often used to see and biopsy the organs in a woman's pelvis, such as the ovaries.
A type of anesthesia called conscious sedation is usually used for endoscopic biopsies. This means you have an IV and are given pain medicine and a medicine that relaxes you. Laparoscopic biopsy is done under general anesthesia, which relaxes your muscles, puts you to sleep, and keeps you from feeling pain.
Before the invention of the endoscope, samples of these organs could be obtained only with open surgery. Open surgery requires a larger cut in the body. More anesthesia and a longer operating time are needed, and it takes longer to recover.
A surgical biopsy is obtained by a surgeon either by removing the entire organ (excisional biopsy) or a small piece of tissue of the organ (incisional biopsy). General anesthesia is used to prevent you from feeling pain.
A bone marrow biopsy is a way to look at the center of the bone. It may be done to look for bone problems and for some cancers of the blood, such as leukemia. It is usually done in the breastbone or the hipbone just below the waist. The skin above the bone is numbed with a local anesthetic and then a hollow needle is used to suck the marrow up into the needle barrel.
