Liver & Abdominal Biopsy — Image-Guided
Ultrasound-guided liver and abdominal biopsies at Epoch Medical Imaging, St Ives. Safe, minimally invasive tissue sampling. Serving the North Shore.
When Is a Liver Biopsy Recommended and What Does It Diagnose?
A liver biopsy provides tissue from the liver that a specialist pathologist can analyse in detail — giving information about liver cell health, degree of inflammation, and amount of scarring (fibrosis) that cannot be obtained from blood tests or imaging alone.
When a liver biopsy is recommended:
– Characterisation of a liver lesion found on ultrasound or CT — to determine whether it is benign or requires further management
– Staging of chronic liver disease when non-invasive methods (elastography, blood tests) are inconclusive
– Assessment of a liver condition that is not responding to treatment as expected
– Confirmation of an unusual or complex liver diagnosis before starting specific treatment
– Pre-transplant evaluation
What a liver biopsy can diagnose:
– The nature of a liver lesion (benign cyst, haemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia, or a lesion requiring further management)
– The degree and pattern of fibrosis in chronic liver disease
– The cause and severity of hepatitis
– Metabolic liver conditions such as haemochromatosis or Wilson’s disease
– Drug-related liver injury
At Epoch Medical Imaging in St Ives, liver biopsies are performed under ultrasound guidance by specialist radiologists — ensuring safe, accurate needle placement every time.
How Is an Ultrasound-Guided Liver Biopsy Performed?
A liver biopsy at Epoch Medical Imaging is a well-organised, carefully performed procedure with the patient’s safety and comfort as the priority throughout.
Step by step:
1. You lie on your back or left side on the procedure table.
2. The radiologist performs a preliminary ultrasound to identify the target area and plan the safest approach — mapping the liver, surrounding vessels, and bowel.
3. The skin over the right side of the abdomen/lower chest is cleaned and a generous local anaesthetic is injected through the skin and into the deeper tissues — you will feel a sting from the anaesthetic followed by numbness.
4. Under continuous ultrasound guidance, the biopsy needle is advanced to the target area and one to three rapid tissue cores are obtained. You will be asked to hold your breath briefly during each pass — typically 2 to 3 seconds.
5. Firm pressure is applied after sampling. A small adhesive dressing is placed.
6. You are observed for 2 to 4 hours after the procedure before going home — this monitoring period is standard practice for all liver biopsies.
7. Arrange a driver home — you should not drive on the day of your liver biopsy.
Risks & Recovery After a Liver Biopsy
A liver biopsy is a safe procedure when performed under image guidance by a specialist radiologist — but it is important that patients understand the recovery process and know what to monitor for.
Common after-effects (normal and expected):
– Mild to moderate soreness at the biopsy site and right shoulder tip pain (referred pain from the diaphragm) for 24 to 48 hours.
– These are managed with paracetamol.
Uncommon complications:
– Significant bleeding: The most important potential complication — which is why the observation period and post-procedure monitoring are important. The risk of significant bleeding requiring intervention is very low (approximately 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,000 procedures) when performed under image guidance by an experienced radiologist.
– Infection: Very rare with appropriate sterile technique.
– Inadvertent adjacent structure sampling: Avoided through careful image-guided planning and real-time needle visualisation.
Recovery guidance:
– Rest at home for 24 hours after the procedure.
– Avoid strenuous activity, heavy lifting, and vigorous exercise for 5 to 7 days.
– Take paracetamol for pain — avoid NSAIDs (ibuprofen) for at least 24 hours.
– Avoid blood thinners until cleared by your GP.
– Seek urgent medical attention if you experience severe pain, increasing pain not settling with paracetamol, fever, or dizziness.
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Thursday - 08:00 AM - 07:00 PM
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