Preparation
Before the procedure, the patient must be informed about the possible consequences of the biopsy. In order to further prepare a skin biopsy, the physician will provide the necessary material. If no abnormal change is examined, a hairless area on the arm or leg is looked for. It may also be necessary to clear the area with a razor.
Implementation
The skin biopsy usually follows directly after the preparation. It is checked again whether all necessary materials are available. Then the area to be biopsied is disinfected.
For this purpose, disinfectant is applied several times and left to take effect for several minutes. After the disinfection, the affected area is locally anaesthetized. For this purpose, local anesthetic is injected around the later entry point with a syringe.
After a few minutes you will be numb at this point. In the following the correct procedure of skin biopsy is performed and the skin sample is taken. This can be done depending on the type of biopsy.
In a punch biopsy, a small portion of cylinder skin is traumatically removed with a special device. In some biopsies, a piece of skin is also cut out of the surrounding tissue using a scalpel. The edges of the wound are then sutured together so that healing is better and faster. This also reduces the risk of infection. A plaster or bandage is then applied and the biopsy is completed.
What is a skin punch?
A skin punch is a device that can be used to perform a punch biopsy. This device has a cavity in the shape of a cylinder at its tip. This tip is used to penetrate the skin and take a cylindrical sample.
The tip leaves a lesion with a diameter of two to three millimeters. A skin punch is used when the skin lesion to be examined is small. This results in fewer lesions on the skin compared to other methods.
How painful is that?
The skin biopsy is not painful if performed correctly. However, pain may occur throughout the biopsy process. Usually the beginning of local anesthesia is the most painful moment.
During this procedure, a small amount of liquid local anesthetic is injected into the skin with a syringe and needle. The puncture is often described as slightly unpleasant and painful.It can also cause a burning sensation under the skin. Pain may also occur after the biopsy.
This concerns exactly the place where the skin was removed. This is comparable to a small graze. However, since the affected area is very small, the pain is often not present here.
