Techniques of skin biopsy and practical considerations

Skin biopsy is a safe, easy and out-patient procedure of diagnostic and academic relevance. There are various methods of performing skin biopsy depending on the size of lesion, suspected clinical diagnosis and site of lesion. Although biopsy is usually a safe procedure, complications such as bleeding, infection and scarring may occasionally be encountered while performing biopsy in an out-patient with basic infrastructure. This article details the various techniques of skin biopsy, their indications and practical steps to curtail complications arising from the procedure.