Helise, my goodness, you are in a world of hurt right now with all the emotional drama taking place! I hope you and your kids have a home where you can feel safe and secure after your ex sold the house out from under you!

What I can do is help you feel less anxious about having the liver biopsy. From my experience it was much easier than I anticipated.

First, make sure you read the instructions given for diet and medications. Most procedures like this call for no eating for several hours beforehand. And also if you’re on meds that can interfere with blood clotting such as blood thinners or aspirin, they’ll want you to stop taking those several days before.

At the time of the biopsy, you’ll be on a table in a surgical room lying on your back. You’ll have a hospital gown on and the area on your right side will be draped and sterilized.
The doctor takes an image of the position of the liver so that they know where to take the biopsy, diminishing the risk of complications. They may also use image guidance while taking the biopsy.
When position is determined, anesthetic is injected into the biopsy site with a very small gauge needle. I barely felt it at all. You’ll be numb when the doctor takes the biopsy.

The biopsy needle is hollow, about the diameter of a paper clip. All to minimize damage and bleeding. You’ll hear and maybe feel a ‘snap’ when the biopsy is actually taken because the biopsy needle is spring loaded with a rubber band! It didn’t hurt and the doctor will alert you ahead of time that this will happen. The doctor and nurses talk you through everything as it’s happening! It was all very comfortable and everyone was so caring and friendly.

After bandaging your incision (which is tiny) they’ll position you on your right side. You’ll stay in this position for a few minutes. Lying on your right side applies pressure to your liver. This is meant to help stop it from bleeding, in the same way that you apply pressure to a bleeding flesh wound.

Afterwards, recovery can take 2 to 4 hours of sitting or lying in recovery. I was in an hospital at the time so just went back to my room and slept. You’ll be monitored closely until ready to be released from the clinic. You’ll get instructions to take it easy for about a week. Avoid rigorous exercise or lifting more than 10 to 15 pounds. So that will be something to keep in mind as a busy mom of 5. You may need some help from your kids to do some lifting.

Wishing you only good news on your biopsy. Will you please let me know what you find out from the results?