Hook wire localisation excision biopsy: what to know

This approach is used when an area cannot be easily felt but needs removal or diagnosis. A radiologist uses mammography or ultrasound to place a fine hook-ended wire into or beside the target, usually after numbing the skin. The wire marks the location while you move to the operating theatre. A surgeon removes the marked tissue and sends it for laboratory examination; the wire is removed with the specimen.

The procedure is different from a needle breast biopsy, which removes smaller samples without taking out the whole target area. Your team will explain whether excision is intended mainly for diagnosis, treatment, or both.

Tell the team about medicines, allergies, pregnancy possibility, and previous reactions to anaesthesia. Follow the instructions about eating, drinking, and medicines. Wear a supportive, comfortable bra and arrange transport if sedation or general anaesthesia is planned. Bruising, tenderness, swelling, or a small scar can occur after surgery. Keep the wound clean as instructed, use the recommended pain relief, and wait for the team to explain when normal activity can resume.

Contact the surgical team for increasing redness, warmth, swelling, wound discharge, fever, worsening pain, or bleeding that does not settle with pressure. Seek urgent help for breathing difficulty, sudden chest pain, or fainting. Ask when the pathology result is expected and how it will be communicated; the result determines whether further care is needed.

Why is wire localisation recommended for me? Which imaging method will guide the wire? What anaesthetic is planned? Where will the scar be, and when will I receive the tissue result?