Breast biopsy

If an abnormal area is found in the breast tissue, the doctor will need to take a sample of cells. This is called a biopsy. You can usually have it at the breast clinic on the same day as your mammogram and ultrasound.

The doctor or a specially trained nurse will give you an injection of anaesthetic to numb the area. Then they remove a small piece of tissue or a sample of cells from the lump or abnormal area. Sometimes they may take more than 1 sample from different areas in the breast or from the lymph nodes.

A doctor who specialises in studying cells looks at the sample under a microscope. They are called a pathologist. They check for cancer cells.

For a few days after the biopsy, your breast or chest area may feel sore and bruised. Taking painkillers and wearing a supportive bra may help. Any bruising will usually go away in a couple of weeks. The results are usually ready after 1 to 2 weeks.

There are different ways of taking a biopsy. Your doctor or nurse will explain the type you will have.

This is sometimes called a core biopsy. The doctor or specialist nurse injects some local anaesthetic to numb the area. Then they use a needle to take small pieces of tissue from the lump or abnormal area. They may use an ultrasound or mammogram to help guide the needle to the right place.

You may feel a little pain or pressure for a short time during the biopsy. Usually, several cores of tissue are removed. But they are all removed through the same hole in the skin.

This uses a vacuum-assisted method to take a slightly larger needle biopsy. A doctor or specially trained nurse gives you an injection of local anaesthetic to numb the breast or chest area. They then make a small cut in the area and put a needle through it. A mammogram or ultrasound picture helps them guide the needle to the right area. They place the needle into the area. The needle is attached to a vacuum device. The device gently sucks up the breast tissue into a small container. The doctor or nurse can take several biopsies without needing to remove the needle and put it in again.

Sometimes it is not possible to remove enough tissue to make a diagnosis with a needle biopsy or a vacuum-assisted biopsy. In this case, you may need a small operation called an excision biopsy. You will be referred to a specialist breast surgeon to have this. You have it under general anaesthetic.

The surgeon makes a cut in the skin of the breast. They then take a biopsy of the breast tissue. You can usually go home on the day of your operation. But some people may need to stay in hospital overnight. Usually, you have stitches that dissolve and do not need to be removed.

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