NJ
A 27-year-old female asked:
Breast biopsy report said that they took 4 biopsies but pathology report said "3 cores measuring 8-9cm each". why aren't there 4 cores?
3 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in

Dr. Enko Kiprilovanswered
12 years experience
It may be lost: It is possible to have lost one of the biopsy cores during processing in pathology. Or maybe the pathologist assigned to your case simply made a mistake and wrote 3 instead of 4 cores. In any case, it is worth contacting the doctor managing your care or directly the pathology department at the institution the biopsy was made and asking them to investigate and find the reason for the discrepancy.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Ed Friedlander commented
Pathology 46 years experience
This is good advice. The fourth core may have floated and be embedded deeper in the paraffin.
May 23, 2013

Dr. Audrey Preferanswered
Obstetrics and Gynecology 40 years experience
Good question: You need to ask the doctor who ordered the bx done, as you probably can't speak to the radiologist.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Jim Huehnergarthanswered
53 years experience
Good question: What matters is that all of the tissue taken in the biopsy was submitted to the pathology lab and that it was all processed for histology. It's pretty common, especially for a long biopsy core to fragment into smaller pieces.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Apr 25, 2016
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