Skin Biopsy
For Patients | For Clinicians
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Skin Biopsy. The arrows point to small nerve
fibers in the epidermis |
Our nerves are made up of fibers
of varying sizes, ranging from small fibers which sense pain and temperature
sensations to large fibers which assist in our sense of balance. Some
patients develop injury to small nerve fibers, a condition called small
fiber neuropathy. Conventional tests such as EMG cannot
detect problems limited to small nerve fibers. However, at Phoenix Neurological
Associates we can diagnose small fiber neuropathy by means of skin biopsy.
A small circular piece of skin (smaller than the diameter of a pencil
eraser) is pinched fro the surface of the skin. Lidocaine, a local anesthetic,
is used to numb the skin first. This involves just a small needle poke.
A simple band-aid is placed over the biopsy site which heals by simply
scabbing over. The whole procedure takes only a few minutes. The skin
specimen is processed in a special way so that the small nerve fibers
in the skin can be visualized and counted.
Video of skin biopsy procedure
