Bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Bronchoscopy

Bronchoscope

Overview

Risks

Results

Bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy

Alternative Names:

Biopsy - lung

What the risks are:

Pneumothorax occurs in about 2% of transbronchial biopsies. Usually this is followed with repeated chest x-rays unless the pneumothorax is large enough to require insertion of a chest tube to decompress the lung.

Whenever a biopsy is taken, there is a risk of hemorrhage. Some bleeding is common, and a technician or a nurse will monitor the amount of bleeding.

Lung infection may occur after any bronchoscopy.

There is also a small risk of:

Disordered heart rhythm (arrhythmias)
Heart attack
Low blood oxygen (hypoxemia)

If general anesthesia is used, there is also some risk of:

Nausea and vomiting
Sore throat
Muscle pain
Breathing difficulties
Depressed heart rate
Change in blood pressure
Kidney damage

There is a significant risk of choking if anything (including water) is ingested before the anesthetic wears off.

Special considerations:

To test whether your gag reflex has returned, place a spoon on the back of your tongue for a few seconds with light pressure. If you do not gag, wait 15 minutes and try again.

Do not use small or sharp objects to test your gag reflex. Call your health care provider or go to an emergency room immediately if you have shortness of breath or chest pain after this procedure.

Review Date: 8/6/2004
Reviewed By: Allen J. Blaivas, D.O., Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University Hospital, Newark, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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