Impact of method of anesthesia on the accuracy of needle-localized breast biopsies

Needle-localized breast biopsy (NLBB) is now a commonly performed procedure. We reviewed a series of 260 NLBBs to evaluate the accuracy of the procedure, using specimen radiography as the standard. General anesthesia was used in 114 (44%) procedures and local anesthesia in 146 (56%). The accuracy rate when the patient received general anesthesia was 96.5% compared with 98% when local anesthesia was used (not significant). The cost of this procedure can be reduced substantially by utilizing local anesthesia as opposed to general anesthesia without compromising the accuracy.