Skin Biopsy

Skin Biopsy

If you have a lesion that looks suspicious for malignancy or if the dermatologist wants to receive a clear diagnosis of a skin condition a small portion of the affected area will be removed by doing a biopsy. A biopsy is defined as “removal and microscopic examination of tissue from the body for the purpose of establishing a precise pathologic diagnosis.”  Excisional biopsy is removal of a skin lesion for microscopic examination. Incisional biopsy is removal of a portion of a skin lesion.

Biopsies are done in the clinic using a local anesthetic; the tissue sample is sent to a dermopathologist for interpretation.