There are maneuvers that we proposed to improve tissue sampling when using Menghini tip needles (Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10)
The mean age of the patients was 63.4 years (median 63 years,
minimum age 28 and maximum 88 years).
Biopsies were performed on 32 men (65% proportion) and 17 women (35%).
The mean size of the lesions was 17.9 mm and median 14 mm ranged from 5 mm to 43 mm)
52 lesions were biopsied in a total of 49 patients (3 patients were biopsied in 2 different locations).
The majority of biopsies were performed in places difficult to approach or close to vital structures such as large vessels,
nerves,
trachea,
larynx,
pharynx,
thyroid or bones.
These locations include submandibular lesions (green arrows),
laterocervical lesions (red arrows),
anterior cervical lesions (blue arrow),
supraclavicular lesions (yellow arrow),
or cervicothoracic lesions (pink arrows) close to the bifurcation of the brachiocephalic arterial trunk or innominate veïns (Fig. 11)
Other lesions susceptible to be biopsied by this technique were lesions at the axillary or inguinal level,
intramuscular,
in solid organs,
peritoneal or pelvic location or also facial.
The majority of lesions were located supraclavicular (n = 13 and 25%) and laterocervical (n = 12 and 23.1% of the total).
78.8% of the biopsies corresponded to lesions located in the head and neck (Table 1, Fig. 12)
The majority of the lesions were diagnosed as infiltration secondary to a known neoplasm,
but there were also diagnostic biopsies of primary lesions (cases of schwannoma,
follicular lymphoma,
hepatocarcinoma,
gallbladder adenocarcinoma,
abscess and non-necrotizing granuloma).
The majority of the lesions were secondary to infiltration by lung adenocarcinoma or squamous carcinomas of the oral,
laryngeal or pharyngeal region (n = 23 and 44.2% of the total) (Table 2, Fig. 13)
Most of the biopsies were diagnostic (n = 49 and efficiency of 94.2% of the total).
Of the 3 non-diagnostic biopsies,
2 were laterocervical lesions with suspicion of infiltration by squamous carcinoma of the larynx (one of 7mm and one of 40mm) and the other was a 14mm inguinal lesion suspected of infiltration by urothelial carcinoma.
No immediate complications were recorded.
In one patient,
a small hematoma was observed adjacent to the puncture site in subsequent control ultrasounds.
Complication rate 1.9%.
Illustrative cases of patients of our cohort (Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig. 16, Fig. 17, Fig. 18, Fig. 19, Fig. 20, Fig. 21, Fig. 22, Fig. 23, Fig. 24, Fig. 25, Fig. 26)