JOHNS HOPKINS -cancer.net



Letter to Patient Having a Thyroid Biopsy

Date ____________

Dear_________________,

Your doctor has requested that you have a thyroid biopsy under ultrasound guidance. Your procedure is scheduled for ___________________ at ______P.M., to be performed at ___________________________________.

Please arrive 20 minutes early to register and bring any necessary referrals with you. For insurance purposes, the procedure or CPT code for this biopsy is #76942.

Of you are taking aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), naprosyn, or ibuprofen, please stop these for five days before the procedure. If you are taking warfarin (Coumadin), please contact your primary care physician for instructions about changing the medication dose or temporarily stopping it before the procedure, and then restarting it afterward.

A thyroid biopsy usually takes approximately 30 minutes. The final pathology report typically is available in 3-5 business days.

Following the procedure, a band-aid will be applied. You may resume normal activities. It is not unusual to feel a little fullness in your throat after the biopsy, but this should disappear quickly. For any significant neck discomfort, you may take acetaminophen (Tylenol), but not aspirin, for pain relief. Contact our office at 410-955-3663 if any fever or local signs of infection or bleeding occur.

In several days, you will be notified by phone of the final pathology results and our recommendations. Please call our office if you have not heard from us within one week.

Sincerely,

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download