Biopsy Results
Biopsy results are provided in person on your follow-up visit or by paper mail.
It takes 14 days on average to process biopsies.
Results take longer in certain complicated cases. Thank you for your patience.
We currently send almost all biopsies to Labcorp as dictated by the insurance and they drive it down to San Diego to process, so it takes several days.
We perform several thousand biopsies annually. It is not possible for us to call every patient with results.
Since the pandemic we have been mailing all results to the patient listed address as soon as we get them.
We try to stamp a comment as to if the biopsy is ok, normal, not normal, malignant etc. and if a follow-up is recomended.
We also try to enclose an EXPENSIVE patient brochure written by the Academy of Dermatology for all things where a brochure is available; which is intended to be easily readable and understandable by patients. Please read them carefully. They are interesting and informative and we pay many thousands of dollars a year to buy and mail them to you.
It is difficult to discuss the meaning of the results on the phone with you. Most skin conditions, or growths that require a biopsy are complicated, and it is challenging to discuss the detailed meaning of each biopsy report with each patient on the phone.
*****We DO NOT have the policy that if you Don't hear from us then it means the biopsy was normal.
It is every patient's responsibility to follow up and receive additional treatment if needed.
Unfortunately we diagnose and treat thousands of skin cancers every year.
Please take an interest and responsibility for your skin lesions and make sure that you either receive the report in the mail or come to the clinic to find out about your results, and that you receive the required treatment if a skin cancer or problem is discovered.
We are pleased to mail or fax a copy of the results to your PCP or reffering physician and generally do so automatically if you provide us with the address or fax number or name of your physician.
If you have financial conditions that make it challenging for you to make a return visit then please inform us and we will help.
Thank you for your understanding.
-S. Yashar MD
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