MULTIPLE BLADDER BIOPSIES UNDER INTRAVESICAL LIGNOCAINE ANESTHESIA

Objective To study biopsy quality, complications and patient acceptanc e when urinary bladder biopsies were taken under local anaesthesia. Pa tients and methods Multiple large cold-cup urinary bladder biopsies we re taken under topical lignocaine anaesthesia in 20 patients who had p reviously undergone transurethral resection for superficial bladder ca ncer. Results The procedures were carried out at the outpatient clinic with 0.5-2 h post-operative observation. Patient acceptance was very high and complications were minimal. The quality of the biopsies was c onsistently high and influenced treatment in the majority of the patie nts. Conclusion In our department multiple bladder biopsies (mapping) have previously always been performed as a transurethral resection und er general or spinal anaesthesia. Operation under intravesical lignoca ine anaesthesia with 2h post-operative observation reduced the costs b y 70%.