Biopsy

Biopsy is the taking of a sample of tissue and looking at it under a microscope in order to reach a diagnosis of a particular problem. It is commonly used to check problem areas for cancer or precancer and a multitude of other conditions.

Biopsies fall into two categories and depend on the size of the problem area concerned.

If the problem area is small then an excisional biopsy is performed. This removes the entire problem area in the process and requires a couple of sutures to be placed.

If the area is too large to remove completely then a small section is removed, together with some normal tissue, and a couple of sutures are placed