What is an Ultrasound Biopsy
An Ultrasound Biopsy is a minimally invasive method that allows us to collect small pieces of tissue from organs within the body. It eliminates the need for open surgery or a general anaesthetic. These tissue samples are sent to a laboratory to determine what might be wrong with a particular organ.
Understanding your procedure
Before your procedure:
You may need a blood test in the days prior to assess your kidney function and how your blood clots.
On the day of your procedure:
- You may be asked to fast prior to your procedure.
- You may be asked to either take or avoid certain medications.
- Please let us know if you:
- Are pregnant.
- Have any allergies.
- Suffer from any ongoing illnesses including diabetes.
- Are taking any medication including blood thinners such as Warfarin.
- When you arrive, please check in with reception. We’ll make sure your details are correct and ask you to complete any appropriate forms. You will be taken to the procedure room and our radiologist will explain the procedure and ask for your consent.
During your procedure:
- We may use an IV line to supply fluid and medication during the procedure.
- We also use anaesthesia to maintain your comfort – depending on the procedure this may be a local anaesthetic, where the area is numbed and you remain fully awake; or a partial or full anaesthetic which will affect your level of consciousness and remove any potential pain.
- You will be asked to lie on a bed while we do a preliminary scan of your internal organs. These ultrasound images are used to guide your radiologist on where to insert the needle.
- We make a mark on your skin at the biopsy site and inject the site with numbing medication.
- The needle is then passed into the organ, where samples of tissue are obtained.
After your procedure:
- When your Ultrasound biopsy is complete, we will remove the needle and apply pressure to the site to stop bleeding.
- Depending on the procedure / organ biopsied, you may be transferred to a recovery ward, and monitored for up to four hours or until the anaesthetic wears off. For some biopsies you will not be required to wait at all.
- We may take an x-ray to make sure everything looks good.
- You should be able to return home on the same day as your biopsy.
- Be aware that you may experience pain from the biopsy site. This can usually be resolved with over-the-counter pain medication.