Biopsy :: Women's Digital Imaging, Ridgewood NJ

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Traditional open surgical biopsy represents the “gold standard” to which other methods of breast biopsy are compared. They usually require a 1.5 to 2.0 inch incision in the breast. During an excisional biopsy, the surgeon will attempt to completely remove the lesion, often along with a surrounding margin of normal tissue. An incisional surgical biopsy is similar to an excisional biopsy except that the surgeon only removes part of the breast lesion. Incisional breast biopsy is usually performed on large lesions.

Breast Biopsy

A breast biopsy involves removing a sample of breast tissue to determine whether it is benign or cancerous. Fortunately, over 65-80% of biopsied suspicious lesions prove to be benign.

There are several different methods of breast biopsy. The selected method is dependent upon a number of lesion and patient factors including the degree of suspicion; lesion size, shape and location; the number of lesions present; and the patient’s medical history. At WDI, we perform ultrasound guided breast biopsies. The following biopsies can be performed using ultrasound guidance:

Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) is a percutaneous (“through the skin”) procedure that uses a fine gauge needle (22 or 25 gauge) and a syringe to sample fluid from a breast cyst or remove clusters of cells from a solid mass. Several needle insertions are usually required to ensure that an adequate tissue sample is taken. The effectiveness of FNA is largely operator-dependent; it requires a skilled radiologist or surgeon

Core Needle Biopsy is a percutaneous procedure that involves removing small samples of breast tissue using a hollow “core” needle. The needle used is larger than that of a FNA at 11, 14 or 16 gauge. Three to six separate core needle insertions are typically needed to obtain a sufficient sample of breast tissue. Patients may feel a slight pressure, but not significant pain. The procedure only takes a few minutes and does not usually leave a scar.

Mammotome (directional vacuum-assisted-bioposy)
The latest and most technologically advanced core needle breast biopsy technique, mammotomy, uses a probe that gently vacuums, cuts and removes tissue samples for testing. The FDA has recently approved the Mammotome as therapeutic in the management of fibroademas and other benign lesions for partial removal.

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