KIDNEY BIOPSY
A renal biopsy is a process used to remove kidney tissue for laboratory diagnosis. The test assists your doctor to know the kind of kidney disease you have, how severe it is, and the most appropriate treatment for it. A renal/kidney biopsy can also be used to observe the efficiency of kidney treatments and see if there are any issues following a kidney transplant.
There are two procedures to perform a renal/kidney biopsy:
Percutaneous biopsy (renal needle biopsy) This is the commonest kind of renal/kidney biopsy. For this procedure, a doctor inserts a thin biopsy needle through the skin to extract your kidney tissue. They may additionally use an ultrasound or CT scan to direct the needle to a precise area of the kidney.
Open biopsy (surgical biopsy) Your doctor makes a cut (incision) in skin near the kidneys. This allows the doctor to look at the kidneys and decide the area from which the tissue samples should be taken.
Purpose of a kidney biopsy
A kidney biopsy can find out what is interfering with your normal kidney function. Healthy people have two kidneys that perform many functions. The kidneys functions are:
Extract liquid waste (urea) from the blood by producing urine
Keep a balance of chemicals, such as sodium and potassium, in the blood
Provide the hormone erythropoietin, which supports red blood cell growth
Manage blood pressure by producing the hormone rennin
Assists activate the hormone calcitriol, which regulates calcium absorption and calcium blood levels
If your regular blood and urine tests show that your kidneys are not doing their job properly, your doctor may choose to perform a renal biopsy. Your doctor might also recommend this test to:
Identify the reason for an abnormal level of waste products in the blood
Check if a kidney tumor is malignant or benign
Measure how nicely a transplanted kidney is working
Examine the cause of hematuria (blood in the urine)
Ascertain the cause of proteinuria (high level of protein in the urine)
Check the severity of progressive kidney failure and how rapidly the kidneys are failing
Make a treatment plan for a diseased kidney
Renal biopsy/kidney procedure
Typically, a kidney biopsy is done as an outpatient procedure at a hospital. However, it can additionally be done in a radiology department if an ultrasound or CT scan is required during the procedure. Before the procedure, you will change into a health facility gown. Your doctor might give you a sedative through an intravenous (IV) line in your hand or arm to assist you relax. Nevertheless, you will not be given general anesthesia for this procedure, this implies that you will be awake throughout.
Recovery from a renal biopsy
At the end of your renal/kidney biopsy, you’ll need time for recovery and monitoring before you’re discharged from the hospital. The timing of your discharge will differ, depending on your usual physical condition, your doctor’s practices, and your reaction to the procedure.
Usually, you can resume eating your normal diet when you feel hungry. Your doctor may ask that you rest in mattress for 12 to 24 hours after your biopsy and stay away strenuous activity and heavy lifting for two weeks.
You should also keep away from jogging, aerobics, or any other activity that involves bouncing, for two weeks after your biopsy. You may desire to take a pain reliever for any pain you have at the biopsy area.
Risks of a renal/kidney biopsy
A kidney biopsy can supply valuable information that allows your doctor to analyze kidney abnormalities and decide on the suitable treatments.
Having an infection after the procedure is a serious risk. However, this rarely happens. Always be very alert for symptoms that could point out an infection after your kidney biopsy. Contact your doctor if you:
Have bright red blood or blood clots in your urine for more than one day after your biopsy
Cannot pass out urine
Feel chills or a fever
Feel pain at the biopsy area that increases in intensity
Experience redness, swelling, bleeding, or any other discharge from the biopsy area
Feel weak or fain
Preparation for a kidney biopsy
Normally, you don’t need to do much to prepare for a renal biopsy.
Ensure you inform your doctor about any prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and herbal supplements you’re taking. You need to talk about it them whether you should stop taking them earlier than and during the test, or if you have to change the dosage.
Results of a kidney biopsy
The tissue sample that are removed during your renal biopsy is taken to a laboratory for assessment. A pathologist, a doctor who specializes in disease diagnosis, examines the tissue.
Your sample is diagnosed under microscopes and with reactive dyes. The pathologist identifies and assesses any deposits or scars that appear. Infections and other abnormal conditions will additionally be identified.
The results of a renal/kidney biopsy are abnormal if there are modifications in the kidney tissue. There are a lot of causes for this result. Often, diseases that begin in different parts of your body can cause damage to the kidneys.
If outcomes are abnormal, it could show:
kidney cancer
kidney infection
weaknesses or restrictions in the flow of blood to the kidneys
connective tissue diseases
rejection of a kidney transplant
complicated urinary tract infection
A lot of other diseases that have a bad effect on kidney function
Your doctor may decide to order additional tests to use to help build a treatment plan. They will go over your results and your condition in depth with you and discuss all the next steps following your renal biopsy.
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