The duration of the investigation
The duration of the examination varies depending on whether an anaesthetic or a local anaesthetic is used. The induction and discharge of an anaesthetic takes about one hour. The local anaesthesia lasts about five minutes.
The duration of the examination itself – i.e. the assessment of the cervical mucosa and the removal of tissue – takes about 15 minutes. The time needed to wash and cover the intimate area sterilely should also be considered. It is about 15 minutes. It can therefore be said that the duration of an examination under anaesthesia is about one and a half hours and the duration of an examination under local anaesthesia is about 35 minutes.
The risks
A biopsy is a minimally invasive examination. This means that the tissue is only slightly damaged by the examination. For this reason the biopsy is a low-risk examination.
However, complications and risks can still occur. For example, bleeding may occur at the site of tissue removal. Furthermore, this site can become infected and not heal properly.
Surrounding tissue, nerves and blood vessels can also be injured. In rare cases, tumour cells can also be spread. This can promote the development of metastases.
After the examination, the site of the tissue removal may bleed again. This can be due to various causes. It is possible that the site has become infected after the biopsy and cannot heal properly.
Wound healing is impaired, which can also lead to post-bleeding. In addition, bleeding after tumorous changes is not uncommon, since it is better vascularized – i.e. it contains more blood vessels than healthy tissue. In addition to the above-mentioned causes, it is also possible to suffer from a tendency to bleed, which does not cause any discomfort in everyday life.
The wounds usually bleed only a little longer than in other people. As a rule, one should hardly feel any pain afterwards, as usually only small samples are taken. However, if complications have arisen during the examination, pain may well occur afterwards. In this case, however, you should be informed accordingly and painkillers should be included.
The evaluation
The removed tissue is sent to the pathology department, where it is examined accordingly. For this purpose, the pathologists look at the cells and pay attention to the size of the cells, the cell nuclei and assess the degree of differentiation of the cells. In the case of malignant degenerations, the cells are hardly differentiated and it is no longer possible to tell which cells are involved.
In addition, special staining is carried out so that it is possible to judge exactly which type of cell is involved and how much they multiply. If there is a tumorous change, molecular biological tests can be carried out. Here it may be possible to identify which mutation in the genetic information has contributed to the development of the tumour.
However, much research is still being done on this topic and many mutations are not yet known. How long it takes to obtain a result depends on the pathological institute that is evaluating the tissue. If you would like an exact time estimate for this, you can ask your treating physician.
