Techniques and Approaches for Safe, High-Yield CT-Guided Suprahyoid Head and Neck Biopsies

The purpose of this article is to present imaging approaches and key technical, safety, and patient care best practices critical for safe, successful image-guided biopsy of head and neck masses.

Image-guided sampling is an important adjunct to the diagnosis and management of head and neck masses and may be particularly useful when lesions are not accessible via an endoscope or by palpation-guided sampling. Appropriate workup is mandatory before the patient is scheduled for such a procedure. Once the procedure has been initiated, needle selection and technique are critical for increasing the diagnostic yield. Knowledge of the various head and neck biopsy approaches and their associated complications is important for optimal tissue sampling and minimization of morbidity.