Kidney Biopsy
Kidney Biopsy is a procedure where a piece of kidney tissue is taken
and examined under a microscope for signs of disease or damage. It is done
for patients with renal dysfunction or those who have hematuria or protein
in urine- the cause of which cannot be otherwise identified by history,
examination, urine and blood tests. By doing biopsy, the treating nephrologist
can know
a. The cause of renal dysfunction
b. Extent of renal
damage
c. Extent of ongoing disease activity
d. Treatment protocol
e. Long term survival of kidney
The patient lies in a
prone position on their stomach. The nephrologist views the kidneys on ultrasound,
a needle is inserted into the kidney under real time guidance, and a core of
the kidney is taken. Usually, 2-3 cores are taken from the kidney.
In general, renal biopsy is a safe procedure. Some of the usual complications
of biopsy include pain at the site, bleeding for urinary tract, hematoma and AVF
formation. After the kidney biopsy, the patient is asked to lie down in supine
position for six hours and then the patient is mobilised. If the patient
doesn’t develop any complication, they are discharged six hours after
the kidney biopsy.