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Last updated: 11/24/2009
A liver biopsy is usually done to evaluate the extent of damage that has occurred to the liver because of chronic and acute disease processes or toxic injury. Biopsies are often performed to identify abnormalities in liver tissues after other techniques...
have failed to yield clear results. In patients with chronic hepatitis C, liver biopsy may be used to assess the patient's prognosis and the likelihood of responding to antiviral treatment.
A liver biopsy may be ordered to diagnose or stage any of the following conditions or disorders:
- jaundice
- cirrhosis
- repeated abnormal results from liver function tests
- alcoholic liver disease
- unexplained swelling or enlargement of the liver (hepatomegaly)
- suspected drug-related liver damage such as acetaminophen poisoning
- hemochromatosis, a condition of excess iron in the liver
- intrahepatic cholestasis, the build up of bile in the liver
- hepatitis
- primary cancers of the liver such as hepatomas, cholangiocarcinomas, and angiosarcomas
- metastatic cancers of the liver (more than 20 times as common in the United States as primary cancers)
- post-liver transplant to measure graft rejection
- fever of unknown origin
- suspected tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, or amyloidosis
- genetic disorders such as Wilson's disease (a disorder in which copper accumulates in the liver, brain, kidneys, and corneas)
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This narrated animation describes the effect of one type of hepatitis, hepatitis C. It describes the most common symptoms of hepatitis C and the various long term consequences of the disease.
In a traditional liver biopsy, access to the liver is gained through an incision in the abdomen (A).The liver is exposed (B). A wedge-shaped section is cut into the liver and removed (C).The liver incision is stitched (D).The abdominal incision is then repaired (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
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Definition
A liver biopsy is a medical procedure performed to obtain a small piece of liver tissue for diagnostic testing. Liver biopsies are sometimes called percutaneous liver biopsies, because the tissue sample is obtained by going through the patient's skin.
Purpose
A liver biopsy is usually done to diagnose a tumor, or to evaluate the extent of damage that has occurred to the liver because of chronic disease. Biopsies are often performed to identify abnormalities in liver tissues after imaging studies have failed to yield clear results.
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