Does muscle biopsy hurt?

[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]to be honest, i had two done and one hurt quite a bit, whereas the 2nd barely at all. whether that means it depends on who does it or at what point in your neuropathy you’re in– don’t know. for what it’s worth though, the pain was short lived 😉

hope yours is painless.[/FONT]

I had a nerve and muscle biopsy done at my lower calf. I experienced very little pain and healed quite well.

Others on the site have not fared as well. I suppose it all depends on the quality of the surgeon performing the biopsy.

Good luck and I hope it yields results for you.

At one time, it seemed that biopsies (especially sural nerve biopsies) were all the rage, as were spinal taps. My neurologist now relies primarily on history, phyisical exam, and EMG studies to diagnose CIDP. In cases where those are equivocal, he still will move on to a skin biopsy, but only orders a spinal tap and/or nerve biopsy when absolutely necessary. There is always the prospect of permanent nerve damage with the sural nerve biopsy, but many people have little or no problems if the biopsy is done correctly. My neurologist does not do the nerve biopsy himself, and insists that the procedure be carried out by a experienced neurosurgeon. Best of luck.

I underwent a Fascicular

(“A small bundle of nerve fibers, enclosed by the perineurium, is called a funiculus; if the nerve is of small size, it may consist only of a single funiculus; but if large, the funiculi are collected together into larger bundles or nerve fascicles, which are bound together in a common membranous investment.”)

biopsy of the right median & axilla nerve in the Fall ’09. The biopsy was done at St. Mary’s Hospital, a part of the Mayo Clinic complex in Rochester, Minn.

As I understand the process, each large nerve bundle is composed of a lot of these fascicles. The surgeon’s report indicated he ‘teased’ apart the fascicles and removed some of them. I liken it to doing construction on a multi-lane freeway where some of the lanes are removed from service for a while.

In my case the surgery required an outpatient overnight stay, yet less than 24 hours- hence I was not admitted!

The short term pain was, on occasion, rather as if there were a lightning storm running up and down my arm. It was shouting out loud excruciatingly painful. Well, I had pain meds for that. Those symptoms abated in about a week, or two, and I have had no symptoms since. No pain, no worsening of symptoms and no improvement either. Though, no improvement was anticipated.

I could not, would not, and did not drive home from Minn. My wife had to drive every mile.

The nerve biopsy was the first and only diagnostic tool by which I received a definitive diagnosis. It was reported to me that, in my case, a sural biospy would be a waste of time. There are signs, and signals on specialized MRI’s that direct the surgeons to a likely biopsy spot.

In June 2010 I had a sural nerve and muscle biopsy on my left calf. My neuro told me that I would have some permanent nerve loss on the outside part of my foot. Very true!!! As soon as I woke up from the biopsy they discharged me and I sat with my leg elevated on the console of my husband’s truck and rode like that all the way home without a pitstop (four hours!!!). It only hurt when I tried to take a step which stretches the calf muscle. The only problem that I had was swelling in my leg so I was told to wear support stockings after the skin healed. Pain is so subjective and I have a high tolerance for pain unless I go to the dentist. Ha!

Anyway the biopsy pathology report left no doubt about the diagnosis and that is one of the tests that my insurance carrier (BCBS) required before they would pay for IVIG..

I had a nerve and muscle biopsy done together. The surgeon said there would be a little numb spot on my ankle and he was right! Afterwards it was sore and they supplied me with tylenol/codeine which knocked out the pain completely. The pain went away quick long before I finished the bottle.
I was afraid, but the biopsies not only ruled out a multitude of diseases some of which I had never even heard of but it quickly got me diagnosed.

Good luck.

If the procedure requires freezing, slicing, staining and reviewing slides, it could take a few days for some of the answers.

It took them four weeks to get the path report back and then it takes an additional month or more if they send a sample for electronmicroscopy. But, it is worth the wait to find out what is wrong.

Good luck tomorrow!!!