Is liver puncture safe?

Liver puncture is relatively safe but still carries some risks, such as bleeding, infection, biliary fistula, and causing tumor metastasis. Liver puncture is an important examination means to confirm the diagnosis of many liver diseases. Nowadays, a fine needle (about 1-2mm in diameter) is used to puncture for tissue biopsy to clarify the diseases, such as cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic metastasis, etc. Nowadays, clinics often carry out the puncture under the guidance of ultrasonography or ct, which can greatly improve the success rate and avoid the complication. 1. Bleeding: Bleeding is a risk that cannot be completely avoided in all invasive operations, especially as the liver has rich blood supply and large blood vessels, which may cause uncontrollable bleeding if large blood vessels are injured by mistake. 2. Infection: infection is also a common complication of all kinds of puncture, strict sterilization before operation, strictly follow the aseptic selection during the operation, and proper care of the puncture site after the operation can help reduce the risk of infection. 3. Biliary fistula: biliary fistula refers to the accidental injury to the larger bile ducts in the process of liver puncture, resulting in bile overflow into the abdominal cavity or out of the body, is a more serious complication. 4. Leading to tumor metastasis: patients suspected of having liver cancer often need to take biopsy by puncture to make a clear diagnosis, but the puncture process may lead to tumor metastasis along the needle channel. It is suggested that patients should fully communicate with the supervising doctor to decide whether to perform puncture according to their conditions, and follow the doctor’s instructions before and after the puncture in order to minimize the damage of liver puncture.