PATIENT PERCEPTIONS OF STEREOTAXIC LARGE-CORE BREAST BIOPSY

Rationale and Objectives. The authors evaluated the perceptions of pat ients who underwent stereotaxic core breast biopsy before and after th e procedure. Methods. By using a standard questionnaire, 58 patients u ndergoing stereotaxic core breast biopsy with a 14-gauge needle were i nterviewed immediately before, immediately after, and 24 hours and 5 d ays after the procedure. Results. Discomfort recorded by patients 24 h ours after core biopsy correlated with the amount of time needed befor e normal activities were resumed (P = .001). Only five patients (9%) i ndicated severe discomfort during the procedure. Patient age, number o f core biopsy samples taken, and lesion depth did not correlate with l evel of discomfort. Fifty-five patients (95%) resumed normal activitie s within 24 hours. However, 41 patients (71%) had some breast bruising as many as 5 days after the procedure. Overall, patient satisfaction with care was high; 56 patients (97%) stated they would return for ano ther biopsy in the future. Conclusion. The morbidity associated with s tereotaxic core breast biopsy is low, although the majority of patient s in this series experienced bruising lasting as long as 5 days after the procedure. Despite this, almost all patients would return for a co re breast biopsy in the future, if indicated.