A biopsy is a procedure where a sample of the skin or tissue is removed and sent for microscopic examination. There are several types of biopsies such as punch, shave, excisional and incisional biopsies.
What is a Biopsy?
Why Do I Need a Biopsy?
A biopsy is performed to determine if a suspicious mole or spot on the body is cancerous, or to assist in diagnosing a lesion or skin condition.
Types of Biopsies
A punch biopsy is a minor procedure. It involves removing a small cylinder of skin with a disposable round stainless-steel tool. Punch biopsies range between 2 – 8 mm.
A shave biopsy is a minor procedure. It can be used to sample or to completely remove a skin lesion in the upper portion of the skin using a sharp instrument such as a scalpel blade.
An excisional biopsy is a procedure that removes the entire area of abnormal skin, along with 2 mm of surrounding skin to give the pathologist the entire lesion to examine. This is often used to biopsy lesions where melanoma is suspected or where the diagnosis of melanoma needs to be excluded. An incisional biopsy involves excising a portion of a skin lesion. This is used when the skin lesion is large or in location which makes complete excision difficult. It is also used to diagnose some rashes
Possible Complications of Biopsies
Bleeding
Bleeding can occur after the procedure and is more common in people who are taking blood thinning medication. If you have any bleeding put firm pressure on the wound with a bandage or clean cloth for 15-20 minutes.
Infection
A bacterial infection of the wound can occur. This is increased with some health conditions such as diabetes or some sites such as the legs or near the groin. Signs of infection are increasing pain or increasing redness. Contact the clinic is this occurs.
Scarring
It is common for a scar to form at the biopsy site. Some areas of the body such as the chest are more likely to result in excessive (hypertrophic or keloid) scars in some people. This is more common in darker skin types.
Nerve Injury
The area of the biopsy can occasionally become numb. This usually resolves with time. Very rarely and in certain body locations nerve injury can occur.
Persistence or Recurrence of the Skin Lesion
Some biopsies deliberately remove only part of a lesion, so the lesion will persist or grow unless treated. It is possible that some lesions which initially appeared to be completely removed with the biopsy recur later.
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