What You Need to Know About Bone Marrow Biopsy
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The procedure is also accompanied by bone marrow aspiration. Bone marrow typically grows inside the larger bones of the body and is a spongy tissue and fluid. Here, stem cells make red and white blood cells and platelets.
When the function of the bone marrow needs to be observed a doctor will carry out a bone marrow biopsy. What it helps to establish is the count of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets—whether they are high or low. The information from this can help to evaluate the situation in certain blood disorders. A bone marrow biopsy helps to diagnose the existence of tumors, the staging of diseases such as lymphoma, and to ascertain how effective chemotherapy is during treatment.
The procedure can be carried out in a doctor’s office or at a hospital using a local anesthetic on the skin. The patient should keep the doctor informed about his medical history and what medication he is on, if any. Information should also be provided about allergies to medication or bleeding issues.
The doctor may prefer to do the bone marrow aspiration first in which an aspirate needle is put into the bone marrow and liquid bone marrow is withdrawn using a syringe. Usually, a sample of bone marrow is taken from the hip bone. After the aspiration, the biopsy needle will be inserted into the bone and a piece of the core of the bone marrow is forced into the needle.
To stop the bleeding, pressure and a bandage will be applied. There is unlikely to be continuous bleeding or infection of the site but if there are any complications then the doctor should be immediately informed. The aspiration will give information about the bone marrow cells while the biopsy will give an idea of the structure of the bone marrow.
This is a delicate procedure so great care is taken while performing it. There will be the quick pain of the anesthetic being given and during aspiration and biopsy there may be some pain. Since the site is a bone, the inside of which cannot be anesthetized, patients may undergo some uneasiness. The patient can have a sedative if they think they need it but for this they must be accompanied. After the procedure the doctor may recommend some painkillers for a few days as the hip bone is likely to ache for a while.
The bone marrow usually has the correct types and numbers of normal blood cells. So if an abnormality is detected it could be because of leukemia, anemia, neuroblastoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a few others.