Breast biopsy

Breast biopsy
Intervention
Surgeon doing a surgical breast biopsy
ICD-9-CM	85.11-85.12
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Several methods for a breast biopsy now exist. The most appropriate method of biopsy for a patient depends upon a variety of factors, including the size, location, appearance and characteristics of the abnormality.

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a percutaneous ("through the skin") procedure that uses a fine needle and a syringe to sample fluid from a breast cyst or remove clusters of cells from a solid mass.

Vacuum assisted biopsy is a version of core needle biopsy using a vacuum technique to assist the collection of the tissue sample. The needle normally has a lateral ("from the side") opening and can be rotated allowing multiple samples to be collected through a single skin incision. The Vacuum assisted biopsy procedure is similar to normal core needle biopsy. The vacuum assisted biopsy category also includes automated rotational core devices.

Recent innovations in tissue acquisition for the human breast have led to the development of unique direct frontal systems. Efficacy is considered optimal if the diagnosis by transcutaneous biopsy is identical to the surgical specimen in case of malignancy or in line with clinical follow-up when benign.

The direct and frontal biopsy systems can even be considered relatively painless. The quality of the sample is sufficient for research on molecular biology.