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Complications of abdominal biopsy

Department of Radiology, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK

Summary

• This paper discusses biopsy of the gall bladder, spleen, pancreas, kidney, adrenal gland and lymph nodes, and the complications associated with these procedures.
  
• Bleeding tendencies should be corrected prior to biopsy.
  
• Antibiotic cover is useful if the biopsied organ is infected.
  
• There are specific circumstances in each organ that produce added risk, e.g. catecholamine crisis whilst biopsying a phaeochromocytoma, pneumothorax during upper abdominal biopsies.