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Is A Repeat Bone Marrow Biopsy Called for

Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Oct 30 4:25am | Replies (15)
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@richardab

Hi Lori, I was told by another oncologist that up to 5% of these procedures fail. I understand that although I'm unsure how the surgeon wasn't aware while obtaining the samples. Had a very brief cursory talk with the heme/onc's nurse on holding off on another biopsy for now as he's not convinced of the need. He's a replacement for the oncologist who ordered the test as that one disregarded a serious health concern of mine. I'm not too sure of this health network at this time. Thank you for your input and taking the time to answer.

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Replies to "Hi Lori, I was told by another oncologist that up to 5% of these procedures fail...."
Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Oct 25 1:59pm

Hi Richard. While there may be a procedure failure in some cases there is also evidence that dry tap can be related to a problem in the marrow that is disrupting the normal developing of blood products. I’ve had 13 biopsies done over the years and have learned a great deal about the procedures and the value of the results in what they can tell my doctor about my bone marrow/blood health.

From my understanding it isn’t always obvious if it was a dry tap at the time. In case of a dry tap, the marrow can be used to make a specimen plate if done quickly before the core sample is immersed in formalin for preserving. I don’t know if that was done in your case or not. I’m guessing not since it looks as though all samples were inadequate for testing. But does that mean the bmbx was improperly done or is there something interfering with normal marrow?

In any event your biopsy wasn’t usable but that doesn’t answer why your doctor ordered it in the first place.
What prompted your doctor to run another biopsy? Were you having changes in your blood numbers?

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