Ultrasound-guided biopsy

You have just had a biopsy of your thyroid gland or another soft tissue structure in your neck. Ultrasound guided biopsies are performed if requested by your referring clinician or if clinically indicated.

During this procedure a small amount of local anesthetic (numbing medicine) may have been used. A fine needle was then used to remove a tiny piece of tissue or fluid from the thyroid gland or another structure in your neck. This sample will be sent to the laboratory to be analyzed under a microscope.

Aftercare

If a plaster was used over the puncture site, you can remove this within a couple of hours. You may see a little bit of blood on the plaster and this is normal.

If local anesthetic was used, the numbing affect will wear off within a few hours, after this time you may experience a small amount of discomfort.

It is not uncommon for there to be a small amount of swelling. This should go away within a few hours. Sometimes a small bruise will develop and this will go away over the next few days. These are very common after a thyroid biopsy.

Using a small icepack for 10 to 15 minutes at a time can help with any swelling and immediate pain. If there is discomfort then paracetamol can be taken. No other pain relief is needed after this procedure.

If you feel the swelling or pain has not gone away within 24 hours, then call your GP or if you feel it is severe attend A&E, but this is rarely required.

Results

The results of your scan and the biopsy will be provided to the requesting physician. All reports and results will be discussed at your next appointment with the doctor who referred you for today’s ultrasound scan and procedure.