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MRI GUIDED BREAST BIOPSY
Breast Biopsy breast biopsy is performed to remove some cells—either surgically or through a less invasive procedure involving a hollow needle—from a suspicious area in the breast and examine them under a microscope to determine a diagnosis. Image-guided needle biopsy is not designed to remove the entire lesion, but most of a very small lesion may be removed in the process of biopsy.
An MRI-guided breast biopsy is most helpful when MR imaging shows a breast abnormality such as:
- a suspicious mass not identified by other imaging techniques
- an area of distortion
- an area of abnormal tissue change
Vacuum-assisted device (VAD) which uses a vacuum powered instrument to collect multiple tissue samples during one needle insertion. |
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What to do prior to scheduling breast biopsy?
Prior to a needle biopsy, you should report to your doctor all medications that you are taking, including herbal supplements, and if you have any allergies, especially to anesthesia. Your physician will advise you to stop taking aspirin or a blood thinner three days before your procedure.
Guidelines about eating and drinking before an MRI exam vary with the specific exam and also with the facility. For some types of exams, you will be asked to fast for 8-12 hours. Unless you are told otherwise, you may follow your regular daily routine and take medications as usual.
The radiologist should also know if you have any serious health problems or if you have recently had surgery. Some conditions, such as severe kidney disease may prevent you from being given contrast material for an MRI. If there is a history of kidney disease, it may be necessary to perform a blood test to determine whether the kidneys are functioning adequately.
You may want to have a relative or friend accompany you and drive you home afterward. This is recommended if you have been sedated.
In order to reduce the risk of bleeding during the procedure, we recommend that patients not take any aspirin product for 3 days prior to the procedure and not take any ibuprofen product (such as Advil or Motrin) for 24 hours prior to the procedure. If you are on prescription blood thinning medication such as coumadin or aspirin, please consult your physician prior to scheduling this exam.
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Equipment and procedure
You will lie face down on a moveable exam table and the affected breast or breasts will be positioned into openings in the table.
A nurse or technologist will insert an intravenous (IV) line into a vein in your hand or arm and the contrast material gadolinium will be given intravenously.
Your breast will be gently compressed between two compression plates (similar to those used in a diagnostic MRI exam), one of which is marked with a grid structure. Using computer software, the radiologist measures the position of the lesion with respect to the grid and calculates the position and depth of the needle placement.
A local anesthetic will be injected into the breast to numb it.
A very small nick is made in the skin at the site where the biopsy needle is to be inserted.
The radiologist then inserts the needle, advances it to the location of the abnormality and MR imaging is performed to verify its position. Depending on the type of MRI unit being used, you may remain in place or be moved out of the center or bore of the MRI scanner.
With a vacuum-assisted device (VAD), vacuum pressure is used to pull tissue from the breast through the needle into the sampling chamber. Without withdrawing and reinserting the needle, it rotates positions and collects additional samples. Typically, eight to 10 samples of tissue are collected from around the lesion.
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What happens after the test?
| A radiologist will interpret
your exam. The technologists who administer the test cannot
interpret or discuss what they are viewing while performing
the exam. A report will be sent to your physician’s office to
discuss results.
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