• Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) - This type of biopsy can be performed in a doctor's office and leaves no scar. A thin needle is placed into the lump. Local anesthesia may be used to make you more comfortable.
  
  A Fine Needle Apsiration can immediately confirm if a lump is a cyst or not (if fluid comes out and the lump disappears, it's a cyst and usually not cancerous). If the lump remains, any tissue samples obtained will be sent for testing.



• Core Biopsy - Under local anesthesia, a slighly larger needle is used to remove a small piece of tissue from the lump. This procedure leaves a barely noticable scar.
  
  If cancer is found, you will need surgery to remove the part of the lump that is still in your breast. In some rare cases, even when the tissue removed shows no signs of cancer, your physician may recommend a further surgical biopsy to confirm the absence of cancer.



• Surgical Biopsy - There are two types of surgical biopsies, incisional and excisional. They will leave a scar. They are generally done under conscious sedation or general anesthesia, but may be done under local anesthesia.
  • Incisional - Removes more tissue that is removed with a core biopsy, but does not remove the entire lump.
  • Excisional - Removes the entire lump, as well as a small margin of normal tissue around the lump. With certain cancers, the excisional biopsy may be all the surgery you need even if the lump is malignant.
    The physician may still need to go back and remove additional tissue, depending upon the findings

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• Needle Localization Biopsy in Conjunction with Surgery - Using mammography or ultrasound as a guide, a physician places a needle and then a fine wire as a guide to the surgeon to the suspicious area. The patient is then taken to surgery where the biopsy is performed.



• Stereotactic Needle Biopsy - This procedure pinpoints the area of concern using x-ray (mammography) images from more than one direction.
  
  The patient lies on her stomach on a special table throughout the biopsy procedure. There may be some occasional discomfort and the procedure can be done under local anesthesia.
  
  A computer plots the exact area and guides the insertion of a core needle so the physician can take a biopsy. This procedure leaves a barely noticeable scar.



• Ultrasound Guided Core Biopsy - This procedure uses sound waves that outline the tissues, creating images to help the physician guide a core needle to the site. This procedure is performed with local anesthesia and leaves a barely noticeable scar.
  
  Only solid masses can be biopsied with this technique; clusters of calcification cannot be biopsied. Not all masses are visable by ultrasound.

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