The ultimate goal of a biopsy is to determine and to document through a histopathology report the existing pathological condition / disease.
In cases of small lesions or where no malignancy is suspected, the biopsy includes the entire affected area and is simultaneously of a therapeutic nature (excisional biopsy). In other cases, only a small portion of the affected area is removed to confirm the diagnosis (incisional biopsy). Biopsy is not a procedure that can be applied in all pathological conditions to make the diagnosis, but it is a powerful diagnostic tool in the hands of an experienced doctor, applying it in cases where he deems it appropriate.
Regarding surgery, intraoral biopsy is performed at a doctor’s medical practice, without requiring a hospital visit in most cases. Initially, local anesthesia is applied to the affected area, and after a sufficient depth of analgesia is accomplished, a scalpel resection of the tissue section is performed as planned. Then, some stitches are usually placed in order to close the wound, which are removed after about 10 days. The whole procedure (local anesthetic injection, biopsy and suturing) takes a total of 5 - 10 minutes. Postoperatively, instructions will be given that you must follow faithfully to complete the healing of the wound in the fastest and safest way.