Poke, poke, poke

After being disappointed by the denial of a fine needle biopsy with the lymph node, my dream was finally realized today with a needle biopsy of the thyroid node.  You see I have a amazing collection of procedures, many that are no longer used, so adding another one was quite a pleasure. Though not completely unpleasant, the procedure was really mostly painless, and I only have a little discomfort left from the swelling.  It was nothing compared with a lymphangeogram of oldeI will get the results back as early as the end of the week, but most likely early next week.  So stay tuned.....


For those faint of heart and squeemish, this is probably as far as you will want to read.  I will describe the procedure in more detail following for those that might be interested in what it is like to have one.

First of all, an intern, which is only fair for how much interning I have done, took some snapshots of the mass just to make sure it hadn't changed significantly from the last time.  The node was located, everything was reviewed by the imaging technician and the radiologist was called in.  I signed a consent and away we went.  The radiologist and the technician relocated the node one more time and marked the skin where they wanted to penetrate the skin.  Then the tech wiped antiseptics all over my neck and her equipment as the intern laid out supplies and the radiologist readied himself.  Then a quick poke and little burn with some anesthetic.  A minute later he was back saying, "tell me if this hurts."  The technician brought up the ultrasound so he could see exactly where he was going, there was a little pressure pain as he pushed the needle into the tumor a half dozen times before pulling it out.  Apparently they could see the line the needle made.  The did the same with two more needles getting different parts of the tumor.  The doc seemed impressed that I didn't bleed much.  They wiped the gel off and put a clear bandage across my neck and sent me on my way.  Compared to other things, I am a pretty big fan of this procedure.  Frankly, I would rather have a needle biopsy than a urinary catheter any day.  Another one for the scrap book.