Nerve Biopsy

Hello! from what I have read on here- seems to be mixed reviews.. some people get answers, some don’t.. from what i’v researched otherwise the damage with cidp and other neuropathies to the nerves is “patchy” so if they don’t get l ucky getting the right part of the nerve you may not get any answers.. I also hear the risks are fairly high that you will have chronic pain from it (i want to say I read 25% of people do).. hopefully other people on here can give you more info!
I had a skin/punch biopsy that looks at the nerves.. apparently this is a newer way of doing things, and not all places do this.. however I’m not for sure how the two compare to each other as far as “what” they tell the dr’s.. From what I know if the skin/punch biopsy comes back abnormal it can not only point towards cidp/inflammatory neuropathy and also it shows that there may be autonomic involvement for some reason too.. The recovery for that one was super simple.. they sipmly take three punches in your leg from foot to thigh.. in their office and they just scab over and that’s it 🙂 Hope that helps!

I had a nerve/muscle biopsy done and it provided the final piece of the puzzle. “Back in the Day” they took a piece of the nerve that goes from the lower calf to the ankle. They also took a piece of muscle with it. I had a good surgeon, in and out, sewed up tight. No fuss, no muss, no hassle. They look at the tissue for demyelination and remyelination, and well as other stuff. In my case, the information provided my Doc to eliminate the last few things and get me a diagnosis of CIDP.
Now they talk of the skin/punch biopsy or whatever that is. I would presume the result is the same, get some tissue and figure out what is happening to you.
Without knowing what else they have done in an attempt to diagnose you, this CAN be conclusive. I had so many other things eliminated before they did the invasive test (biopsy), the only way they could accurately complete the diagnosis was to get more information.
After a firm diagnosis, you have something to get your head around and the Doc’s can treat you a little more clearly. One of the hardest part of CIDP was the five or six years it took to get a diagnosis and understand what I have and how to deal with it.
Good luck, I hope you get some answers.
Dick S

I also had the skin punch biopsy done. My neurologist uses the nerve biopsy only in cases where other testing has not been definitive and the diagnosis of CIDP is questionable. He also has the biopsy done by a neurosurgeon with experience doing that type of biopsy. This lessons the chance of residual problems from the procedure.

i had the sural nerve biopsy just this past June at Mayo. It confirmed my cidp diagnosis. I had it done on my most affected area—-rt foot. they used just local anesthesia, removed a small piece of the sural nerve behind my right ankle. I was able to walk on it immediately after. They put dissolvable stitches on the inside, steri stitches on the outside, so no need to go back for removal. very thin small scar–not bad. There was no pain from the procedure or the incision itself, but i did have shooting nerve pain from that area for about 10 days, it was pretty intense pain but only came when i flexed my foot or moved it in certain positions. thankfully it wasnt permanent. I have numbness on the top of my rt foot and outside of the ankle from the nerve biopsy . I already had the glove and stocking feeling numbness, the nerve biopsy area is a little more numb than that—if that makes sense??? if you have any other questions regarding the procedure feel free to ask.

For those of you that had the skin/punch biopsy did it come back abnormal?? Mine came back abnormal all the way to the thigh- my dr said this is what sealed her diagnosis of CIDP/inflammatory neuropathy. I just can’t find a lot of info on this online, so curious what yalls experience was?