My doctor says that he is going to take a 12-core biopsy and that he will use anesthetic for the procedure. How does the anesthetic work?
The need for repeat prostate biopsies was a common occurrence in men with elevated PSA levels or a suspicious digital examination whose initial biopsies did not show prostate cancer. Now, with the ability to perform a local anesthetic block of the prostate, more biopsy cores are obtained with less discomfort to the patient. Using this technique, it is likely that fewer cancers would be missed on initial biopsy sessions and the need for repeat biopsies decreases. Men should confirm that their biopsy will be done with a local anesthetic and that at least 12 biopsy cores will be taken. The urologist should wait at least 5 minutes after administering the local anesthetic before taking biopsy samples, but the longer the better. If the anesthetic is injected at the beginning of the ultrasound scan procedure, there is usually good anesthesia by the time that all of the scans have been printed and measurements have been taken.
