Anyone whose medical condition needs a specific diagnosis may need a biopsy. A biopsy may also be needed to monitor a disease or condition. There are several different kinds of biopsy. In an excisional biopsy , a whole organ or whole lump is removed by surgery. This may require general anesthesia .
General anesthesia means that a person is put to sleep with medications and feels no pain.
This kind of biopsy is often used to diagnose cancer. For an incisional biopsy , the surgeon cuts out a small piece of the tissue or lump. This may require general or local anesthesia . Local anesthesia means that medicine is injected locally in an area to numb it, but the person stays awake. This kind of biopsy is used to diagnose some cancers.