Adrenal Biopsy

Alternate Names : Adrenal Gland Biopsy

What is involved in preparation for the test?

Because preparation for this procedure can vary, a person should ask his or her doctor for instructions.

What happens right after the procedure?

After a biopsy guided with X-rays, a person usually requires little, if any, time to recover. If a relaxing medicine was given, the person often must be monitored for an hour or two until it has started to wear off. The person may then be able to go home if there is no other reason to stay in the hospital. If the person was given medicine, someone else should usually drive him or her home. This is because the medicines used to relax people often impair the ability to drive.

After the surgical approach to adrenal biopsy, a person often needs to stay in the hospital for a day or more to recover. He or she is first taken to a surgery recovery room for a few hours, then to the hospital room. In some cases, a person may be able to go home the same day if someone else drives him or her home.