Image guided biopsy for ovarian cancer

A doctor might take tissue samples (biopsies) from your ovaries or from a sheet of fatty tissue inside the abdomen called the omentum. 

They use a CT or ultrasound scan to guide where to put the needle. This is called an image guided biopsy.

Not all women are able to have an image guided biopsy. For example, if your cancer is in an area that is difficult to get to. So you might have a laparoscopy instead.

How you have it

You have this test in the CT or ultrasound scanning room.

You have a local anaesthetic injection in the skin over the area so that it goes numb. The procedure takes about 10 to 20 minutes.

Your doctor uses an ultrasound or CT scan to guide the needle through your skin into the correct place. They take tissue samples from part of the ovary or omentum.

They might take samples from different places, so you might have several needle puncture sites. A specialist doctor (pathologist) examines the tissue samples in the lab to check for cancer. 

After the test

After the test, you rest in bed for a while and they monitor your pulse and blood pressure. If all seems well, you can get up and eat and drink normally within a few hours.

You can have this test as an outpatient or you may stay overnight in hospital. It will depend on how well you are and the time of day you have the test.

Getting your results

You should get your results within 1 or 2 weeks. 

Waiting for results can make you anxious. Ask your doctor or nurse how long it will take to get them. Contact the doctor who arranged the test if you haven’t heard anything after a couple of weeks.

You might have contact details for a specialist nurse who you can contact for information if you need to. It may help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you feel.