No need to worry!!
Posted , 2 users are following.
The first tip I will give you is not to listen to any horror stories about a liver biopsy! I came home today after having one yesterday afternoon at 2pm.
The one thing I regret doing is reading about other peoples bad experiences with a liver biopsy and letting it worry me... it's not as bad as you think... honestly!
I felt sick with worry up until the point of having it done... the nurse wheeled my bed into the x-ray room and basically ran through with me what would happen during the biopsy and she said that I shouldn't feel a thing, just a little pressure.
Next thing the Doc walked in looking all official etc, etc, and helped ease all my worries about the biop. He asked me to sign some consent forms which I did. He sat down and put some very cold jelly-like liquid on the end of a rollerball thing and did an ultrasound around my liver (on my right side) and then my spleen (my left side). He informed me that the layer of fat he was going to be cutting through was only about 1cm thick and then the liver is right after that so it's not as deep as you may think!
Next he said that I could have a light sedative but he said he didn't really think I needed it because I didn't look that anxious (although I felt anxious!) so I decided not to have a sedative. Next he marked the entry spot with a pen and layed a blue cloth with a big hole in it over the entry spot. Then he inserted the needle which basically was a short, sharp scratch... nothing painful. The worst bit of pain I felt throughout the whole biopsy (which wasn't even that bad) was the anesthetic going into my system (a bit like a very long lasting bee sting) He then put a second dose of anesthetic in my side. Next I felt a little sharp feeling and a bit of pressure which was the Doc making a small incision and then putting the plastic tube in through which he imnserted a spring-loaded needle. Next I heard a loud click (the first sample of liver was taken) and then a second click (the second sample of liver was taken) and nothing was felt during the clicks. Then that was it... all done! He applied a gauze strip (like a giant white plaster) and then I was wheeled out.
The Doc was very good and talked/re-assured me through the whole thing and it was fine... I would even go as far as saying that I would have it done it again... but only if I really had to!
Straight after I felt a deep pain around my liver and my lower back when I breathed in but that got better once I was back on the ward and given 2 paracetemol. That was the only dose of pain-killers I took and once the anesthetic wore off I just felt a slight pain in my side but that was really only when I layed directly on it.
I had a lay flat for 4 hours and then my head was elevated slighly for the next two hours after that... and then (hip-hip-horray) I was allowed to go to the toilet at long last!! My blood pressure, temperature and vitals were taken every 15 mins then slowed to every 30 minutes untill the 6 hours of rest were up.
Sorry for the very detailed explanation but I know that I would have loved to have read something like this before I had my liver biopsy done. I just want to re-assure those of you that are going to have a liver biopsy that it really won't be as bad as what you might think!
Good Luck All xx
0 likes, 3 replies
Guest
Posted
Sheilaaf
Posted
I am so glad that everything went well for you, but I still feel that not everyone's experience is the same. You stated that you had two doses of anaesthetic and I do believe it's the amount of this that makes the difference. I only had one dose which I now think wasn't enough as before I had a skin carcerous growth removed the doctor had to inject me five times before I could not feel the area being worked on with local anaesthetic. I hadn't read any comments before I went and I suppose it's good in a way as I would have thought it was going to be a dawdle like so many of you lucky ones, but there are some of us who have not had quite so good an experience and I'm sure they are all not \"wimps\", I'm certainly not. So really it's a case of we're all different being treated by different doctors in different hospitals. I had a heart cardiac MRI scan yesterday which was a complete walkover compared to my liver biopsy experience.
Guest
Posted
Am one of those people who stressed and cried with anxiety before my biopsy (yesterday). The procedure itself was, dare I say, painless. I was amply anaesthtised on the area. Docs communicated throughout and that calmed me. I was shocked that this was easier than giving my bloods for test. So the local anaesthetic works. Then I lay on my side for two hrs. Ached in rhs shoulder for a short while, experienced abdominal pain like mild period cramp (higher up!) but all that subsided quickly enough for me not to have needed even a paracetamol despite the availability of pain relief from the wonderfully attentive nurses. I'm normally a complete wimp! Ate slightly sitting up after 2 hrs and then waited til discharged 4 hrs after that! UCLH is fab! Am off work today as job too physically demanding to risk it and I have felt like I have to move more slowly so as to avoid the 'delicate' feeling around the wound site- a kind of pull or drag. Really though, no pain. It's true that everyone is different but I didn't realize that it was possible to get off so lightly! Try to relax and do look after yourself and follow the rules