Biopsy

At Arizona Endocrine Surgery, a biopsy is often a key diagnostic step used to determine whether surgery is necessary for conditions affecting the thyroid, parathyroid, or other endocrine glands.

A biopsy involves collecting a small sample of tissue or cells to examine under a microscope. For endocrine surgery, this is most commonly done using a fine needle aspiration (FNA)—a minimally invasive procedure that helps evaluate:
- Thyroid nodules to determine if they are benign or suspicious for cancer
- Lymph nodes in the neck when thyroid cancer is suspected or being monitored
- Occasionally, parathyroid or adrenal lesions, though imaging and lab results often guide those decisions more than biopsy