needle biopsy

(Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian) A special report published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicates that an alarming 35 percent of initial diagnostic breast biopsies in the United States are still being done using unnecessary open surgical techniques.

This in spite of the fact that it costs as much as three times more than the much less invasive and equally accurate needle biopsy technique.

TORONTO (MedPage Today) -- A frameless stereotactic needle biopsy of brain tissue is as safe in regions of the brain that involve language and other functions as it is in less vital areas, researchers said.