What is a "fine-needle aspiration"?

What is a "fine-needle aspiration"?

A fine needle aspiration, or FNA, is where a surgeon uses a small needle to go into the breast to get cells from a concerning area or a seen on a mammogram or ultrasound, or a palpable abnormality. It is a needle, so there is a small amount of pain. A topical anaesthetic is usually used to dull the pain. Once those cells are obtained by the fine-needle aspiration, they are stained and analyzed underneath the microscope to determine whether they are benign (not cancer), or whether they are malignant. If they are malignant, further evaluation is needed to determine exactly what the extent of the cancer is, and what the next treatment is.