{"id":8593,"date":"2026-02-05T12:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/?page_id=8593"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:05:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:05:24","slug":"biopsy-after-visit-instructions-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/patient-care\/for-patients\/exam-prep-patient-education-resources\/biopsy-after-visit-instructions-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Biopsy: After Visit Instructions"},"content":{"rendered":"

POST BIOPSY INSTRUCTIONS:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel or washcloth for 1-2 hours (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, and 20 minutes on) to help with swelling. Use new ice as needed for the first 24 hours. After 24 hours, a heating pad can help with pain.<\/li>\n
  2. No strenuous activity and no lifting more than 5 pounds (2-liter soda bottle) with the same arm as your biopsy side for 48 hours.<\/li>\n
  3. You may want to wear a sports bra to bed tonight for comfort.<\/li>\n
  4. Take Tylenol (acetaminophen) for pain if needed, but do not take Tylenol if your primary care provider has told you not to take Tylenol. Do not take aspirin-containing products or non-steroidal products (such as ibuprofen, known as Advil or Motrin, or naproxen, known as Aleve) for the next 2 days.<\/li>\n
  5. Keep the biopsy site covered with the bandage and dry for 48 hours (2 days). No showering, bathing, or swimming. You may shower in 2 days without using soap on the wound. Just let the water fall over the biopsy area and gently pat dry with a clean towel.<\/li>\n
  6. Watch for bleeding or signs of infection (redness, swelling, increasing pain, or a fever). If you have bleeding that does not stop after holding firm pressure for 10 minutes or signs<\/li>\n
  7. of infection, please call your primary care provider or the breast imaging clinic Monday-Friday 8am-5pm at (984)-974-8762. If the office is closed, seek medical attention at the nearest Urgent Care or Emergency Department.<\/li>\n
  8. Your pathology results from your breast biopsy will be available on My Chart in 3-5 days. If you do not feel comfortable getting your results from My Chart, please call your primary care provider or the UNC Breast Imaging Clinic at (984)-974-8762 if you have any questions, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.<\/li>\n
  9. The radiologist will look at your biopsy results and your breast imaging to decide the next step. Depending on the results, the radiologist may recommend you 1) resume screening mammogram; 2) have a short-term follow-up mammogram, ultrasound, or MRI; or 3) talk to a breast surgical provider. If you need to talk to a surgical provider, a surgery team member will call you to schedule an appointment. If you have questions about a surgery appointment, please call (984)-974-8116.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Biopsy: After Visit Instructions PDF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    POST BIOPSY INSTRUCTIONS: Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel or washcloth for 1-2 hours (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, and 20 minutes on) to help with swelling. Use new ice as needed for the first 24 hours. After 24 hours, a heating pad can help with pain. No strenuous activity and no … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83776,"featured_media":0,"parent":193,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-8593","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83776"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8594,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8593\/revisions\/8594"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}