Wire Localization Biopsy
This procedure uses special breast x-rays called mammograms to locate breast tissue abnormalities. Often mammograms will detect abnormalities that cannot be felt.
After being admitted, you will be taken to the Outpatient Care Center, East Campus. When admitting paperwork is completed by the nursing staff, you will be taken to the Center for Breast Health.
At the Center for Breast Health, you will meet a doctor specially trained in mammography, a radiologist and a mammography technician who will locate the abnormality on your mammogram films. Using the mammogram as a guide, the radiologist will insert a small needle into the breast. This needle will direct a special wire to the abnormal area shown on your mammogram. Once the wire is in place, a gauze bandage will be placed over the wire on your breast and you will be transported back to the Outpatient Care Center.
Next, you will be taken into the operating room to join your surgeon. Using local anesthesia and a sedative medication to help you relax, the surgeon will remove a small area of abnormal tissue as the wire is removed from your breast. The operating room procedure takes about 20-30 minutes. After surgery, you will be transported back to the Outpatient Care Center to recover until you are ready to go home.
What Care Is Required Following Wire Localization Biopsy?
Follow your surgeon’s instructions regarding care after the procedure. Generally these include:
- Removing the bandage and bathing the day after the procedure.
- Wearing a good supportive bra.
- Taking Tylenol or medication your surgeon prescribes for pain as needed.
- Returning to work the day after the procedure but limiting activities that are rigorous or involve lifting.
