Lip biopsy for sjorgrens - is it really needed, or are blood tests enough?

Depends: If i had the classic symptoms (dry eyes, dry mouth, large parotids), classic parotid duct imaging and high titers of anti-ssa/ro and anti-ssb/la, i might forego biopsy. Otherwise, my own choice would be for biopsy simply to certainty -- sjogren's complications in lung, liver, and even brain can be surprising, and forewarned is forearmed. Get informed consent and decide.

Sjogren's : Sjogren's is diagnosed based on symptoms, good clinical exam , laboratory data and anti body levels. At times imaging studies are done to evaluate salivary glands, eye exam for dryness , chest x-ray for lung involvement and kidney tests for kidney involvement . At times lip biopsy to confirm diagnosis.