The purpose of this test is to find out if cancer has spread from your prostate to nearby lymph nodes.  You may have a biopsy done prior to surgery if your lymph nodes appear enlarged on an imaging study. Most biopsies, however, are done during surgery.

The Day of Your Biopsy

A specially trained radiologist will take a sample of cells from a lymph node by using a technique called fine needle aspiration (FNA).

In this procedure the doctor uses a CT scan image to guide a long thin needle into the lymph nodes. The syringe attached to the needle is used to take a small tissue sample from one of the lymph nodes. If cancer cells are found in the lymph node biopsy specimen, surgery is usually not attempted. Instead, other treatment options are considered because the cancer is likely to have spread to other areas as well.

In some cases, the surgeon may use a laparoscope, which is a long, slender telescope inserted into the abdomen through a very small incision. Using one or more other small incisions, the surgeon can remove the lymph nodes around the prostate with special surgical instruments and send them to the pathologist. The procedure is called a laparoscopic lymphadenectomy, and it is rarely used.

Call your Doctor if you Experience

• Fever of 100.4° or higher, or chills
• Ongoing or excessive bleeding from your rectum