What it is
The vulva is the skin outside the vagina. When a spot, patch or lump does not clear with treatment, the answer is in the skin itself.
Dr. Mueller numbs a small area and removes a circle of skin a few millimeters across. Sometimes one stitch closes it. Often nothing is needed.
Long-running itch, white patches and thinning skin are often a skin condition, not an infection. The biopsy is what names it.
Why it is done
- A spot, mole or patch that has changed
- Itching that creams have not settled
- White, thickened or thinning skin
- A sore or ulcer that will not heal
- A lump you can feel
- A new dark area anywhere on the vulva
What happens, step by step
- 1
Finding the spot
Dr. Mueller examines the whole vulva, sometimes with a magnifier.
- 2
Numbing the area
A small injection of lidocaine stings briefly, then the area goes numb.
- 3
The sample
A punch tool lifts out a circle of skin three or four millimeters wide.
- 4
Closing up
One dissolving stitch or a dab of silver nitrate stops the bleeding.
- 5
Lab results
The skin goes to the lab and results come back in about a week.
Questions people ask
- Does a vulvar biopsy hurt?
- The numbing shot stings for a few seconds. After that you feel pressure, not pain.
- Do I need stitches?
- Sometimes one dissolving stitch. It falls out on its own within two weeks.
- How do I care for it afterward?
- Rinse with warm water, pat dry, and use petroleum jelly. No tub baths, no sex for a week.
- Can I drive home?
- Yes. Only the skin is numbed.
- Will it leave a scar?
- A small pale mark is common and is usually hard to find later.
- Does a biopsy mean cancer is suspected?
- No. Most vulvar biopsies come back as a skin condition. It is the only way to know which one.