Biopsy needles are used to take tissue samples from the body for further study. Needle biopsies are less invasive than surgical biopsies and can be guided by touch or medical imaging. Some doctors use a wire location biopsy to guide a surgical biopsy.
Biopsy needles are needles specifically designed for the purpose of taking biopsy samples. In a biopsy procedure, a tissue sample is removed from the body for further study. Biopsies are often used to investigate suspicious tissue in the body such as breast lumps, and several techniques may be used to perform a biopsy, depending on the nature of the tissue sample taken and the physician’s preferences.
In a surgical biopsy, the doctor cuts the patient and removes a sample of tissue. This procedure can be painful and invasive, and puts the patient at an increased risk of complications such as infection. Needle biopsies, in contrast, are based on using a large diameter needle to remove a sample of tissue, essentially taking a sample from the patient. In a crude illustration of how a needle biopsy works, imagine inserting a straw into a cupcake and then pulling it out again to extract a small piece of the cupcake.
In a basic needle biopsy, a large needle is inserted into the area of interest and then carefully withdrawn to remove the desired sample. Both soft tissue and bone can be sampled with biopsy needles. In fine needle aspiration biopsies, a smaller needle is inserted and a syringe is used to create a vacuum that gently pulls the tissue of interest into the needle. Vacuum biopsies can be used to take a sample and remove distinct small lumps with the use of vacuum aspiration and large diameter biopsy needles.
Doctors can use biopsy needles by touch, using one hand to locate the area of interest and the other to manipulate the needle, or they can use medical imaging for assistance. When an area of suspicious tissue can’t be palpated or clearly identified, ultrasound-guided biopsy may be used, with ultrasound pinpointing the area of interest so the doctor can be sure the sample is being taken from the right place.
In a hybrid version of the needle and surgical biopsy, some doctors do a wire location biopsy, in which a very fine wire is inserted into the body and used to mark an area of interest. The wire is fixed in place so the patient can be taken to an operating room for a surgical biopsy, with the surgeon using the wire as a guide to take a sample from the correct area.
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