Bone Marrow Biopsy: What It Is, Procedure & Results (2024)

How can I prepare for a bone marrow biopsy?

Your provider will explain the procedure and instruct you on how to prepare. For instance, if you receive a sedative to help with the pain the day of the procedure, you may need to fast (no food or drink) the night before. You’ll need to arrange for someone to drive you home.

Your provider should have detailed information about your medical history and current medications. Tell them about:

  • Any history of bleeding disorders (such as hemophilia).
  • Any medications you’re taking, especially blood thinners (anticoagulants).
  • Any vitamins or supplements you’re taking.
  • Any medication allergies.

Your provider will also need to know if you’re pregnant.

What should I expect during a bone marrow biopsy?

A bone marrow biopsy can occur in your healthcare provider’s office or hospital. The entire process lasts about 30 minutes. You’ll be awake during the procedure, but your provider will numb the biopsy site (local anesthesia) to keep you comfortable.

Before the procedure, you’ll change into a hospital gown. Your provider may give you a sedative to help you relax.

Typically, the steps are as follows:

  1. Depending on the biopsy site, you’ll lie on your side or your belly. The most common bone marrow biopsy site is the back of your hip bone (posterior iliac crest).
  2. Your provider will clean your skin with an antiseptic and inject a numbing medication through your skin to the bone surface.
  3. They’ll make a small incision at the site and insert a special biopsy needle into your bone. They’ll use a small syringe attached to the needle to remove liquid from your bone marrow. This is called a bone marrow aspiration.
  4. They’ll insert a needle with a hollowed-out center to capture a small piece of the sponge-like tissue from your marrow. This type of biopsy is called a core biopsy because the needle removes a “core,” or cylinder-shaped, tissue sample.
  5. Your provider will remove the needle that contains the sample. They’ll apply pressure to your skin to stop any bleeding and place a bandage over the wound.

Your provider will send the sample to a lab, where it can be examined for signs of disease.

How painful is a bone marrow biopsy?

You may feel a sharp sting during the bone marrow aspiration, and you may feel brief, dull pain during the core biopsy part of the procedure. Unfortunately, bone can’t be numbed. You may feel pressure, pushing and pulling that may cause discomfort.

Talk to your provider about any concerns you may have about pain. In addition to numbing the biopsy site, they can provide medications to keep you more comfortable during your biopsy.

What should I expect after a bone marrow biopsy?

You’ll likely go home the same day of your procedure. If you received a sedative during the biopsy, you’ll need someone to drive you. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions about caring for yourself as you recover.

They may advise you to:

  • Take a nonprescription pain reliever to help with pain or discomfort.
  • Avoid exercise or any strenuous physical activity for at least 24 hours.
  • Keep your wound dry for at least 24 hours.

Are there risks to a bone marrow biopsy?

Complications, like heavy bleeding and infection at the biopsy site, are rare. Usually, applying pressure to the site stops excess bleeding. Your provider may prescribe an antibiotic cream if you get an infection.

Bone Marrow Biopsy: What It Is, Procedure & Results (2024)

FAQs

Bone Marrow Biopsy: What It Is, Procedure & Results? ›

A bone marrow biopsy is a procedure that involves removing a sample of bone marrow and testing it for signs of disease. Your healthcare provider may perform a biopsy to diagnose

diagnose
Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as a diagnosis with the medical context being implicit.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Medical_diagnosis
blood disorders, cancer and many other conditions that may affect your bone marrow.

What results are taken in a bone marrow biopsy procedure? ›

Basic results can be available as soon as 24 to 48 hours. Whereas if for example you're having genetic tests on your bone marrow samples, these results can take a couple of weeks. You won't get any results at the time of having a bone marrow taken.

What cancers does a bone marrow biopsy show? ›

Cancers of the blood or bone marrow, including leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma. Cancers that have spread from another area, such as the breast, into the bone marrow. Hemochromatosis.

What if the bone marrow test is positive? ›

“Positive” results mean something abnormal was found in your bone marrow, and your doctor may want to begin treatment for cancer, a blood or bone marrow disorder, anemia, or whatever condition the test reveals you have. Depending on your condition, your doctor may order additional tests to help guide the next steps.

What happens if a biopsy is negative? ›

Biopsy is a very commonly used word, almost associated with diseases related to cancer. If the result returned is negative, it is considered a benign tumor and vice versa, positive is a malignant tumor. However, it does happen that the result is a false negative.

What should I watch after bone marrow biopsy? ›

Call 911 anytime you think you may need emergency care. Call the contact centre number you were given or seek immediate medical care if: You have bright red bleeding from the biopsy site that does not stop after 30 minutes of holding direct pressure on the site.

What disease or condition is diagnosed by a bone marrow biopsy? ›

A biopsy can help them diagnose blood disorders, cancer, causes of unexplained fevers or infections and more. Stage cancer: Cancer staging measures how much cancer has progressed. A bone marrow biopsy can show if cancer has spread to your bone marrow. It can show if a tumor in your bone marrow is growing.

Do bad biopsy results come back quicker? ›

If I have cancer will my biopsy results come back faster? No. How long you have to wait does not reflect what the result will be. The speed at which it's done only reflects the process within a particular clinic.

What are abnormal bone marrow results? ›

What Abnormal Results Mean. Abnormal results may be due to cancers of the bone marrow (leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, or other cancers). The results may detect the cause of anemia (too few red blood cells), abnormal white blood cells, or thrombocytopenia (too few platelets).

Can you drive yourself home after a bone marrow biopsy? ›

If you have received sedation medication for the biopsy you may feel drowsy for a short period of time. During this time it is important that you avoided driving or operating heavy machinery. NOTE: If you have received sedation for the procedure you are advised not to drive home following the procedure.

Why is a bone marrow biopsy so painful? ›

Most of the pain and discomfort associated with the procedure comes from the needle piercing through the periosteum. A solid, cylindrical sample of the marrow is removed as a trephine biopsy, followed by attachment of a syringe and aspiration of marrow fluid.

Do you feel sick after a bone marrow biopsy? ›

After the needled is withdrawn an adhesive dressing is applied and generally no sutures are needed. The dressing should stay in place for at least 24 hours and be kept dry. COMMON EFFECTS AFTER THE PROCEDURE: Nausea and/or vomiting may occur in the hours after the procedure.

Do I really need a bone marrow biopsy? ›

Your doctor may order a bone marrow biopsy if your blood tests show your levels of platelets, or white or red blood cells are too high or too low. A biopsy will help determine the cause of these abnormalities, which can include: anemia, or a low red blood cell count.

What tests are run on bone marrow biopsy? ›

Marrow samples can also be used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), flow cytometry, immunophenotyping, karyotype tests and polymerase chain reaction.

Can a bone marrow biopsy detect autoimmune disease? ›

However, a BM biopsy is a low-risk procedure with the potential to reveal important information about the cause of the patient's AIHA. For patients with features suggestive of an LPD, BM biopsy is required to confirm or exclude the diagnosis. Failure to detect an LPD leads to the incorrect diagnosis of primary AIHA.

What is a bone biopsy looking for? ›

A bone biopsy is a procedure in which bone samples are removed (with a special biopsy needle or during surgery) to find out if cancer or other abnormal cells are present. A bone biopsy involves the outer layers of bone, unlike a bone marrow biopsy, which involves the innermost part of the bone.

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