Different method for pancreas biopsy???

Different method for pancreas biopsy???

I was scheduled to have a biopsy of my pancreas today. However, rather
than call me and tell me it was cancelled, I found out when I went to
the hospital! They said that my stomach doctor did not want the test
where they use a CT scanner and pinpoint the exact area and then use a
needle (aspiration) and get a sample. He said that in some cases, if
the tumor is cancerous, the cancerous cells can bleed out and infect
other organs. He wants me to go to the University of Ann Arbor
Hospital and have a different type of thing done where they stick a
tube down your throat and do something that way. Anyone ever hear of
such a test and if so, what is it called and explain it further. I was
just told all of this by the hospital today and have heard nothing
from my Dr. or the hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Thanks,
Waldo

Re: Different method for pancreas biopsy???

Waldo Lydecker wrote:
> I was scheduled to have a biopsy of my pancreas today. However, rather
> than call me and tell me it was cancelled, I found out when I went to
> the hospital! They said that my stomach doctor did not want the test
> where they use a CT scanner and pinpoint the exact area and then use a
> needle (aspiration) and get a sample. He said that in some cases, if
> the tumor is cancerous, the cancerous cells can bleed out and infect
> other organs. He wants me to go to the University of Ann Arbor
> Hospital and have a different type of thing done where they stick a
> tube down your throat and do something that way. Anyone ever hear of
> such a test and if so, what is it called and explain it further. I was
> just told all of this by the hospital today and have heard nothing
> from my Dr. or the hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
>
> Thanks,
> Waldo

It's called an ERCP biopsy. ERCP stands for Endoscopic Retrograde
CholangioPancreatography.

They put a tube down your throat, past your stomach and into the first
part of your small intestine. The tube has a small camera on the end so
the doctor can take a look around. When they find the opening for the
duct leading to the pancreas (or liver/gallbladder) they can inject dye
and take xrays if they want to. They can also take tissue samples at the
same time (biopsy).

See: * digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ercp/index.htm

Your doctor must have decided that it would be better for you to get the
sample this way.

Andrew