Musculoskeletal Image-Guided Biopsy - Benefits and Risks
Benefits
- The procedure is less invasive than surgical biopsy, leaves little or no scarring and can be performed in less than an hour.
- Recovery time is brief and patients can soon resume their usual activities.
Risks
- There is a risk of bleeding and forming a hematoma, or a collection of blood at the biopsy site. The risk, however, appears to be less than one percent of patients.
- An occasional patient has significant discomfort, which can be readily controlled by non-prescription pain medication.
- Any procedure where the skin is penetrated carries a risk of infection. The chance of infection requiring antibiotic treatment appears to be less than one in 1,000.
