Testing Tuesday

On Tuesdays I will write about a different kind of biopsy.  It will be a great way to describe each one with detail.  I would love for questions from my readers.  Please ask and I will answer honestly.

Today is dedicated to Thyroid biopsies.  We have all heard of the thyroid and most do not know its' function.  It is common for the thyroid to have nodules.  Most of the time these nodules are found by coincidence during another test, like an ultrasound or CT scan.  Many physicians want to have the nodule biopsied.

Not all facilities or physicians perform biopsies exactly the same.  Protocols vary from place to place.  So I will give a general description.  Typically a nurse will have you sign a consent and stay with you for the whole procedure.  An X-ray tech will assist the doctor.

There is generally no medication given, so the patient can drive oneself to the appointment.  The patient will lye on their back with their head tipped back to help the thyroid pop out.  An ultrasound will be used to guide the Interventional Radiologist to the correct nodule.  The sample will then be given to the lab for analysis.

This procedure is called Fine Needle Aspiration or FNA.  It means that  very small needles are used to collect samples of the tissue.  First the doctor will use lidocaine, a numbing medicine, to numb the track that the needle will follow.  The doctor will put the needle in the nodule and gently push in and out to get the cells for the lab.  About four samples are collected.

                                                              Video Credit: You Tube

After the procedure, many patients describe a feeling of something being stuck in their throat.  This is not unusual and will pass within an hour.  It occurs because the lidocaine injected fills up tissue with the numbing medicine and those tissue are not normally swollen.  So that tissue feels like it is pushing on the throat.

The results from the biopsy are usually available in 3 to 5 days after the biopsy.  The doctor cannot determine the diagnosis during the biopsy.  A pathologist has to examine the samples and it takes a few days.

In total the biopsy takes about a half an hour.  The paperwork and talking take more time than the actual procedure.  Most patients are pleasantly surprised at the ease of this test.



When the doctor is finished  a small amount of pressure is applied to the neck and a bandaid is placed.  It is normal for some bruising to occur.