A breast biopsy is a procedure that is performed after a patient has a mammogram and abnormal breast tissue is revealed. During the breast biopsy, a portion of the abnormal tissue is removed and sent to a lab for further examination to determine if the tissue is cancerous and needs to be removed, or if it indicates some other health problem. While this procedure is usually very low risk and the majority of breast biopsy patients don't experience complications, there are potential complications that your doctor will discuss with you.
Open Excisional Biopsy
An open excisional biopsy is one of four types of biopsy procedures. In this type of procedure an incision is made as close to the lump as possible to remove either part or all of the mass for testing. A local anesthesia is administered and the area to be cut is numbed. This procedure usually takes about an hour to be completed.
There are very few complications associated with open excisional biopsy. There is a risk of infection and internal scarring.
Axillary Node Dissection
This is a type of biopsy procedure that determines whether or not cancer has spread past the breasts by checking the axillary lymph nodes under the arms. This one-to-two-hour procedure involves the removal of some fat that contains lymph nodes from the under arm. This procedure is done at a hospital and under general anesthesia.
Complications include permanent numbness under the arm, infection of the incision site and the arm and hand becoming more prone to infection.
Sentinel Node Biopsy
A sentinel node biopsy is similar to the axillary node biopsy in theory, but much less invasive. This procedure involves injecting a radioactive tracer or blue dye into and around the mass. Once the mass is located the surgeon tracks the path of the tracer away from the breast and to the first lymph node and the sentinel node is then removed through a small incision.
The only complication from this procedure is that the breast and skin may be a bluish color for a short time.
Needle Aspiration
This is a biopsy procedure in which a needle is used to draw fluid or tissue surrounding the mass. Though this procedure is the least invasive and requires no recovery time there is a greater chance for misdiagnosis because the entire mass is not be removed.
There are four types of needle aspiration procedures: fine needle, core needle, vacuum assisted and large core.
Post Procedure Concerns
Any discomforts or unusual activity that affects the area the breast biopsy was performed on should be reported to your doctor.
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