During a pulmonary needle biopsy, the sample of lung tissue to be analyzed is collected by inserting a long needle into the chest.
For the precise choice of the injection point, the doctor makes use of some diagnostic procedures for images, such as for example CT, ultrasound or fluoroscopy. These methods, in fact, allow to visualize the exact point of the lungs in which the anomaly resides and the tissue to be studied in the laboratory.
It is very important that during insertion of the needle, the patient holds his breath and does not move his chest. Only in this way, in fact, the withdrawal takes place correctly and at the desired point.
Pulmonary needle biopsy can be performed either by a radiologist or a pulmonary doctor, requires local anesthesia and lasts from 30 to 60 minutes.
Furthermore, there is no hospitalization, but only an observation period of about two hours. During this time, the patient is subjected to an X-ray chest, to make sure that the needle has not damaged any fundamental anatomical structure.
At the end of the procedure, the affected area is usually painful.
As regards the disadvantages of the procedure, pulmonary needle biopsy provides a sample of tissue of limited size. Finally, a fourth method is via video-assisted thoracoscopy ( thoracoscopic biopsy ).
