Kidney Biopsy

Biopsy, Kidney, Percutaneous Renal Biopsy, Renal Biopsy

Results

A kidney biopsy is done by inserting a long needle through the back (flank) to remove a sample of kidney tissue. This is called a percutaneous kidney biopsy.

• Samples of kidney tissue are sent to a pathology lab, where they will be looked at under a microscope for kidney diseases, such as kidney cancer.
• Other samples of kidney tissue may be sent to a microbiology lab to see whether an infection is present.

Biopsy results are ready in 2 to 4 days. If tests are done to find infections, it may take several weeks for the results to be ready.

Kidney biopsy

Normal:	The structure and cells of the kidney look normal. There are no signs of inflammation, scar tissue, infection, or cancer.
Abnormal:	The sample may show signs of scarring due to infection, poor blood flow, glomerulonephritis, a kidney infection (pyelonephritis), or signs of other diseases that affect the body, such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
	Kidney tissue may show tumors that were not expected, such as Wilms' tumor (which occurs in early childhood) and renal cell cancer (which is most common after age 40).

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Author:	Monica Rhodes	Last Updated: September 29, 2008
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Tushar J. Vachharajani, MD, FASN, FACP - Nephrology
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