The bones in the human body are made up of mineralized tissue and are an essential part of the structure of the human body. The presence of this rigid frame allows human beings to perform strenuous tasks that would otherwise be impossible. The tissue in the bones is also susceptible to infection or disease just like any tissue in the human body. There are also abnormalities in bone production or abnormalities related to the structure and strength of the bones. Many abnormalities are detected when a troublesome part of the body is tested under an X-ray or CT scan. However, these abnormalities only show up as structural problems or areas that appear darker or lighter on the scan. This is helpful to an extent but this little information is not sufficient to help make a diagnosis about the nature of the condition affecting the patient.
For that reason, a bone biopsy is ordered once an abnormality is detected. A biopsy is a medical diagnostic process where the tissue from any part of the body is removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis. In the case of a bone biopsy, the tissue is removed from the bone itself. The site for removal is usually as close to, or right in the middle of the abnormal area that has been detected in prior tests. During a bone biopsy, the doctor will probably use an imaging device to help guide the needle into place unless an open biopsy is being performed.
There is considerable pain experienced by a patient after a bone biopsy. Again, the pain depends on the type of biopsy used. The human body tends to heal fairly quickly and most pain symptoms tend to begin fading away within a day of the procedure. For a needle biopsy, the site is dressed and should be kept clean by the patient. The dressing on such a site may be kept in place for up to a week. It is not uncommon for the area around the wound to be mildly painful and to even slightly swell up. For a surgical or open biopsy, the recovery time is slightly longer as one requires stitches to close the wound after the biopsy surgery. The stitches will be kept in place as per the recommendation of the doctor who will remove them when the wound is sufficiently healed. Apart from the recovery of the wound, there is no significant problem that should affect an individual after a bone biopsy.