Bone Marrow Biopsies for Myelofibrosis
- Bone marrow biopsies are one of the tests used to confirm a diagnosis of myelofibrosis, a rare type of bone marrow cancer.
- During the biopsy, a needle is inserted into center of the bone in order to extract marrow for testing.
- The procedure can be painful and patients may be given a mild sedative, pain medication, and a local anesthetic to help manage the pain. Typically, pain is only felt during the procedure and patients do not have side effects afterwards.
- In some cases, patients may opt to be fully or partially sedated for the biopsy.
Several tests are often used to diagnose myelofibrosis, a rare type of bone marrow cancer. This may include a bone marrow biopsy, an assessment of symptoms, blood work, genetic testing, and/or imaging tests (like an MRI).
Bone marrow biopsies are helpful to diagnose the disease — which is part of a group of disorders known as myeloproliferative neoplasms — because these samples taken from the marrow can be studied in a lab and used to confirm a myelofibrosis diagnosis.
While this is a necessary test, patients should be aware that the biopsy itself can be uncomfortable and they will likely deal with some pain.
What Happens During a Bone Marrow Biopsy?
During the biopsy, bone marrow will be extracted through a needle so doctors can run tests on it in a lab.“Unfortunately, a bone marrow biopsy is a painful procedure,” Dr. Abdulraheem Yacoub, a hematologist at University of Kansas Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet. “It will require inserting a needle through the thick part of the bone in order to go to the center of the bone and extract some of the bone marrow for examination.”
Is a Bone Marrow Biopsy Painful?
The process of inserting a needle into the bone can be painful, as can the process of removing the marrow, Dr. Yacoub says.
Typically, a bone marrow biopsy will be performed in a clinic, and patients will be given some sort of sedative and other medications to help them cope with the pain from the procedure.
“Most of the time we perform this in the clinic with mild sedation and some pain medicines, as well as local anesthetic,” Dr. Yacoub says. “With the combination of all of this, most patients can tolerate that with some sensation of pressure rather than pain.”
In certain cases, patients may opt to be partially or completely sedated. It’s important to discuss these options with your doctor to ensure you feel as comfortable as possible during the bone marrow biopsy.
The good news is that patients don’t typically have issues with pain or other side effects after the procedure.
Possible Complications of a Bone Marrow Biopsy
With any procedure, there is the potential for complications — and bone marrow biopsies are no different.
“The pain is usually only during the actual active part of the procedure,” Dr. Yacoub says. “It is very unlikely that the patient will have any symptoms after the biopsy. But, of course, some procedures have complications such as bleeding or other issues that could occur.”
If you experience any of the following symptoms in the days after a biopsy, contact your healthcare provider immediately:
- Bleeding
- Fever
- Worsening pain or discomfort
- Swelling at procedure site
- Increasing redness or drainage at procedure site
“Patients should contact their physicians immediately if they are having pain after the procedure — [since] it’s not an expectation,” Dr. Yacoub adds.