Prostate Biopsy

A prostate biopsy is a procedure in which small hollow needle-core samples are removed from the prostate gland to check for prostate cancer, typically ordered after a high PSA blood test result or an abnormal digital rectal exam. As of 2014 the most common technique was transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy, while an alternative method, template prostate mapping, takes fifty to sixty samples through the skin between the rectum and scrotum under general or spinal anesthesia for more thorough sampling. Blood in the urine follows the procedure in roughly a third of cases, with infection occurring in under one percent.