General Dermatology

Skin biopsy

SKIN BIOPSY

Skin biopsy is a biopsy technique in which a skin lesion is removed to be sent to a pathologist to render a microscopic diagnosis. It is usually done under local anesthetic in a physician’s office, and results are often available in 4 to 10 days. It is commonly performed by dermatologists.

Skin biopsies are performed to help with the diagnosis of your skin condition. Sometimes, different skin conditions can look similar to the naked eye so additional information is required. This is obtained by looking at the structure of the skin under the microscope after the cells have been stained with special coloured dyes.

THERE ARE TWO SITUATIONS IN WHICH THIS USUALLY OCCURS:

• To distinguish between different types of rashes or skin lesions. Our dermatologist will be considering a number of possible diagnoses, and the skin biopsy provides additional information in this process.
• The dermatologist suspects you have a skin cancer . A biopsy is taken to confirm that the skin cancer is present. The biopsy may also give information on the type of skin cancer, which may determine the best treatment.