Application of Ultrasound-guided Core Biopsy in Head and Neck

Head and neck tumor is frequently encountered clinically, but the list of differential diagnosis of neck lumps is lengthy. Consequently, the major concern of diagnostic procedure is to effectively narrow the possibility, and finally make an accurate diagnosis. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy (USCB) has been well established in many medical fields as the standard tissue sampling procedure, with less harm than open biopsy (OB) and more pathological information than ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (USFNA). In addition, using the small-cutting needle, USCB can be easily and safely performed for head and neck lesions. In this review, we present our optimal procedure of applying USCB and review its roles in head and neck, including cervical lymph nodes, thyroid tumors, salivary tumors, pediatric head and neck lesions, cervical infectious diseases, head and neck cancer and aerodigestive tumors. The procedure-related bleeding and tumor seeding are rarely reported even after 7-year follow up in the literature. The head and neck surgeons are competent to take care of any unpredictable complications caused by USCB. According to our experience, USCB can be utilized as a powerful tool in surgeon’s hands to explore the possibilities of doing tissue sampling in many areas of head and neck.