Liver biopsy

Hi Chris. Welcome to the group. I'm surprised you need a biopsy..I didn't really think they went down that route anymore. Have you had the liver function tests done, and scans done? The biopsy is a more invasive procedure, and tests and scans are the way to go these days. Do you have any symptoms relating to the liver, abdominal pain on the right hand side etc? What was your ferritin level? Mine was 2000 when first diagnosed. I had an mri scan of the liver and liver function tests.

Just wondered why your going straight for a biopsy. Ask your Doc why that route and not scan.

Keep us posted...Mike.

Hi Chris,  I agree with Mike.  I too, was told I was to have a biopsy and it was only when I refused that they told me about the other options.  I had a Fibroscan, then an ultrasound  and then an MRI, instead.  None are invasive and they look at a much bigger area of liver than a biopsy does, so there is less margin for error.  Good luck and don't let them force you into any procedure you aren't happy with, like the way they tried to bully me.

Yep. Ruth is right. My consultant even said to forget any biopsy. He said it wasn't necessary these days with all the other options. So, don't go down this route if you don't want to.....

Hello, I was 22 years old when they did my liver biopsy. I will not sugar coat anything. I was very sore afterward. They took I believe 4-5 core samples. I was more surprised that it was outpatient surgery and that did not even give me a heads up on procedure or pain involved. I would imagine that by now there is a better and easier way to get a biopsy from liver. More than likely than can sedate you prior to biopsy. I wish you well, just remember to ask about other options that aren't so invasive

As others have mentioned it is not always necessary to have a biopsy but I had one and I'm glad I did. With a biopsy you will know much iron is actually present in the liver. Also they can tell for sure if liver complications like Fatty Liver or Cirrosis have developed and how advanced the complications might be.

I had my liver biopsy a couple of years ago,  it wasn't to bad but figure on being inactive for a day or two afterward.

They will want you stop taking aspirin and any medications that might increase your clotting time for about a week before, the procedure  usually takes about 6-8 hours although the biopsy itself is quick. Mine was scheduled at the hospital outpatient clinic for 9:00am they had me go in at 8:00am for lab work, a CBC, liver panel, prothrombin time and in my case ferritin. After the labs they sent me to ultrasound to have my liver mapped and the location of the biopsy sites marked on the right side.

I then went to the outpatient clinic and they will put me in a cubicle with a regular hospital bed rather than a gurney and they will hooked me up to an IV and to the monitors for BP, EKG, and stuff. The MD will show up and inject the biopsy sites with lidocaine, a few minutes they started the procedure. You lay on your back with your right arm over your head. They will make a small incision at the biopsy site (not sure if this is standard, in some cases they may just go through the abdominal wall, but they had to go between the ribs in my case) and place a syringe with a long needle into the liver . You wont feel anything but kind of a thump when they take the cores. They will dress the sites of the incisions and have you lay on your right side for a couple of hours. The instruments will monitor your vitals and somebody will come about every hour to take your blood to monitor the prothrombin,  in my case they did it 4 times before they were confident there was no internal bleeding so I didn't get done until about 4:00pm. (that may have been a bit longer than usual). They wanted me to take it easy for the next 24 hours and not travel (I had come in from out of town), they gave me a long list of symptoms that if they occurred I was supposed to go to the hospital ER right away but nothing I was fine. I was sore for a few days afterward, wouldn't say it was a piece of cake but it wasn't to bad and I wouldn't be hesitant to have another as I had real concerns with what kind of shape my liver was in and this gave me a definte answer.

Good luck

I was scheduled for my first hip replacement in January but they canceled the surgery at the last minute due to elevated liver enzymes, they were worried about the effect of anesthesia on my liver. They did an ultra sound and some other tests, found nothing, and did the surgery in March. I had my second hip replaced in September, they said I still had elevated liver enzymes and did more tests. They said I have hemochromatosis and they wanted to do a liver biopsy after I stopped taking blood thinners from the surgery. I was just scheduled for the biopsy on November 16th. That's all I know right now.