Breast Biopsies

Breast biopsies are usually completed by the radiologist. A small sample of tissue will be removed and sent to the pathologist, who will make a diagnosis. Biopsies may be done with the assistance of the mammogram (stereotactic biopsy), ultrasound (ultrasound-guided), or MRI (MRI-guided).

Local anesthesia is used for the biopsies with little recovery time. Patients are often concerned that the biopsy will spread cancer, but there is no evidence that this occurs. Core biopsies are a minimally invasive procedure used to accurately obtain a diagnosis for patients to make informed decisions regarding their care.