It really depends on 3 factors:
-WHAT'S being biopsied
-WHERE'S it's being biopsied from
-SIZE of material being biopsied
I had a biopsy done on my arm. My doctor extracted a roughly 1 inch square of skin; the entire procedure only took 15 minutes.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoWiki User
∙ 12y agoThe procedure takes 30-45 minutes, although the biopsy needle itself remains in the pleura for less than one minute.
Because pleural biopsy is an invasive procedure, it is not recommended for patients with severe bleeding disorders.
Pleural biopsy is usually ordered when pleural fluid obtained by another procedure called thoracentesis (aspiration of pleural fluid) suggests infection, signs of cancer, or tuberculosis.
The procedure most often performed for pleural biopsy is called a percutaneous (passage through the skin by needle puncture) needle biopsy.
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Pleural biopsy is done to differentiate between benign and malignant disease, to diagnose viral, fungal, or parasitic diseases, and to identify a condition called collagen vascular disease of the pleura.
The biopsy site may take up to six weeks to completely heal.
Normal findings indicate no evidence of any pathologic or disease conditions.
About an hour
The skin overlying the biopsy site is anesthetized and a small incision is made to allow insertion of the biopsy needle. This needle is inserted with a cannula (a plastic or metal tube) until fluid is removed.
An excisional biopsy itself usually takes under one hour
As many as three separate specimens are taken from different sites during the procedure.
Abnormal findings include tumors, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections, and tuberculosis