Wooster Community Hospital offers stereotactic needle biopsy in its Breast Health Center. This is a lower cost, safe and simple needle procedure that results in the removal of only a small sample of tissue and causes little discomfort. Highly accurate, a needle biopsy leaves no disfiguring scar. In fact, the incision is so small stitches are not required for closure. The procedure requires about an hour of the patient's time, and is performed by a Surgeon on staff at Wooster Community Hospital.
Many women return to their normal activities immediately after the procedure.
Early detection using bone density measurement is the best approach to protect women from the potentially debilitating effects of osteoporosis. The bone densitometry resembles an x-ray machine and measures the bone mineral content and density of specific bone sites that are most susceptible to fracture due to osteoporosis. Bone densitometry measurement requires about 20 minutes of time at most and is a completely safe, noninvasive, and painless procedure. The patient lies still on a table, breathes normally and relaxes as the unit scans over the body. Computer imaging and a comprehensive digital database are used to compare a patient's bone density levels to a reference population based on age, sex, race, and weight.