Initial experience with new dedicated needles for laparoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration and histological biopsies.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) is an important imaging modality during laparoscopic staging of intra-abdominal malignancies, but LUS-assisted biopsy is often difficult or impossible. We report a newly developed inbuilt biopsy system for direct LUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and Tru-cut biopsies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: LUS-guided biopsy was performed in 20 patients with upper gastrointestinal tract tumors. The biopsied lesions had either not been previously detected by other imaging modalities or had been inaccessible, or the biopsy sample had been inadequate. Primary diagnosis, duration of biopsy procedure, needle monitoring (visibility, penetration, and deviation), complications, technical failures, and pathological findings were prospectively recorded.

RESULTS: 44 biopsies were performed with 25 needles (19, 20, and 22-G). Needle monitoring and penetration were good or acceptable in 18 patients (90%). Slight needle deviation (<10 mm) was seen in eight patients (40%). The LUS-guided biopsy specimen was sufficient for analysis in 13 patients (65%). In two additional patients, adequate material was obtained, but pathological examination was impossible owing to incorrect handling of the specimen. The biopsy procedures lasted 16.3 minutes (range 10-20 minutes) and no complications were seen.

CONCLUSIONS: LUS-guided fine-needle aspiration or Trucut biopsy is possible using this newly developed biopsy system. These preliminary data suggest that LUS-guided biopsy may further improve the diagnostic possibilities of LUS.