Brief Answer: different techniques used Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic A biopsy is a simple procedure where a sample of tissue is taken to be sent to the lab for analysis. The main complication would be pain at the site which would be treated with oral pain killers. The discomfort should resolve in 2 to 4 days. Once your doctors have explained which procedure they will use, they will clean the area with alcohol or iodine. A local anesthetic may or may not be used. In many cases it is not necessary. There are different techniques that may be used: (1) fine needle aspiration biopsy- this is one of the most common and would be used if the doctor can feel the mass clearly. In this case, a fine needle is applied then suction is used to remove cells. This is repeated at 5 mm to 10 mm spaces along the mass. The needle is then removed and the sample placed unto glass slides (2)Core biopsy- in this case, a larger needle is used to remove a cylindrical sample of tissue. Because this is more easily interpreted than the sample collected in fine needle biopsy, it is used if the lab being used does not have the staff to do the fine needle. (3)if the masses are not clearly felt then an image guided biopsy may be done, this is a biopsy done along with some form of imaging test. The core technique would be done. The biopsy is unlikely to take more than 1 hour to complete, in many cases far less than this and you would be able to return home. The time it would take for results would vary from lab to lab I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

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