A biopsy of the liver is a medical procedure in which a small amount of liver tissue is surgically removed so it can be analyzed in the laboratory by a pathologist.
Liver biopsies are usually done to detect the presence of abnormal cells in the liver, like cancer cells, or to evaluate disease processes such as cirrhosis. Your doctor may order this test if blood or imaging tests indicate there are problems with your liver.
The liver is a vital organ. It produces proteins and enzymes responsible for essential metabolic processes, removes contaminants from your blood, helps fight infection, and stores essential vitamins and nutrients. Problems with your liver can make you very sick or lead to death.
Your doctor may order a biopsy to help determine if an area is infected, inflamed, or cancerous. Symptoms that a doctor would test for include:
- digestive system issues
- persistent abdominal pain
- right upper quadrant abdominal mass
- laboratory tests pointing to the liver as an area of concern
A liver biopsy is usually done if you received abnormal results from other liver tests, have a tumor or mass on your liver, or suffer from consistent, unexplainable fevers.
While imaging tests like CT scans and X-rays can help identify areas of concern, they can’t differentiate between cancerous and noncancerous cells. For this, you need a biopsy.
Although biopsies are typically associated with cancer, it doesn’t mean you have cancer if your doctor orders this test. Biopsies also allow doctors to see if a condition other than cancer is causing your symptoms.
A liver biopsy can be used to diagnose or monitor a number of liver disorders. Some conditions that affect the liver and may require a biopsy include:
- alcoholic liver disease
- autoimmune hepatitis
- chronic hepatitis (B or C)
- hemochromatosis (too much iron in the blood)
- nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD)
- primary biliary cirrhosis (which leads to scarring on the liver)
- primary sclerosing cholangitis (which affects the liver’s bile ducts)
- Wilson’s disease (an inherited and degenerative liver disease caused by excess copper in the body)
Any medical procedure that involves breaking the skin carries the risk of infection and bleeding. The incision for a liver biopsy is small and needle biopsies are less invasive, so the risk is much lower.
Biopsies don’t require much preparation on the part of the patient. Depending on your condition, your doctor may ask you to:
- undergo a physical examination and complete medical history
- stop taking any medications that affect bleeding, including pain relievers, anticoagulants, and certain supplements
- have your blood drawn for a blood test
- not drink or eat for up to eight hours before the procedure
- arrange for someone to drive you home
Again, jaundice itself isn’t a disease but a symptom of several possible underlying illnesses. The type of treatment your healthcare provider recommends for jaundice depends on its cause. Your healthcare provider will treat the cause of the jaundice, not the symptom itself. Once treatment begins, your yellow skin will likely return to its normal state.
Moderate jaundice is typically treated with phototherapy in the hospital or in the home to help remove excess bilirubin.
The light waves used in phototherapy are absorbed by your baby’s skin and blood. The light helps your baby’s body change the bilirubin into waste products to be eliminated. Frequent bowel movements with greenish stools are a common side effect of this therapy. This is just the bilirubin exiting the body. Phototherapy may involve the use of a lighted pad, which mimics natural sunlight and is placed on your baby’s skin.
Severe cases of jaundice are treated with blood transfusions to remove bilirubin.
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