Care After Needle Biopsy of the Lung

This sheet gives you information about how to care for yourself after your procedure. Your health care provider may also give you more specific instructions. If you have problems or questions, contact your health care provider.

What can I expect after the procedure?

After the procedure, it is common to have:

• Soreness, pain, and tenderness where a tissue sample was taken (biopsy site).
• A cough.
• A sore throat.

Follow these instructions at home:

Biopsy site care

• Follow instructions from your health care provider about when to remove the bandage that was placed on the biopsy site.
• Keep the bandage dry until it has been removed.
• Check your biopsy site every day for signs of infection. Check for:
  • More redness, swelling, or pain.
  • More fluid or blood.
  • Warmth to the touch.
  • Pus or a bad smell.

General instructions

• Rest as directed by your health care provider. Ask your health care provider what activities are safe for you.
• Do not take baths, swim, or use a hot tub until your health care provider approves.
• Take over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your health care provider.
• If you have airplane travel scheduled, talk with your health care provider about when it is safe for you to travel by airplane.
• It is up to you to get the results of your procedure. Ask your health care provider, or the department that is doing the procedure, when your results will be ready.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.

Contact a health care provider if:

• You have more redness, swelling, or pain around your biopsy site.
• You have more fluid or blood coming from your biopsy site.
• Your biopsy site feels warm to the touch.
• You have pus or a bad smell coming from your biopsy site.
• You have a fever.
• You have pain that does not get better with medicine.

Get help right away if:

• You have problems breathing.
• You have chest pain.
• You cough up blood.
• You faint.
• You have a fast heart rate.

Summary

• After a needle biopsy of the lung, it is common to have a cough, a sore throat, or soreness, pain, and tenderness where a tissue sample was taken (biopsy site).
• You should check your biopsy area every day for signs of infection, including pus or a bad smell, warmth, more fluid or blood, or more redness, swelling, or pain.
• You should not take baths, swim, or use a hot tub until your health care provider approves.
• It is up to you to get the results of your procedure. Ask your health care provider, or the department that is doing the procedure, when your results will be ready.