A prostate biopsy is a simple procedure. In most cases, the whole process takes about 15 minutes and doesn't require any anesthesia. As you lie on an exam table, a doctor will insert a slender ultrasound device into your rectum. The device will emit sound waves to produce a clear image of your prostate. This process is called transrectal ultrasound or TRUS.
Guided by the ultrasound image, your doctor will slide a tiny needle through your rectal wall and into the prostate. The key word is "tiny": Prostate biopsy needles are only 1.2 millimeters in diameter.
Prostate tumors tend to be very small and can be located just about anywhere on the prostate. For this reason, doctors take samples from several different areas of the gland. The most common approach is to take six samples.
By some accounts, a prostate biopsy hurts -- but not as much as you might think. The prostate itself isn't especially sensitive to pain. In most cases, anxiety over the biopsy causes more trouble than the biopsy itself.
Many patients notice small amounts of blood in their urine, stools, or semen in the days after a biopsy. This is to be expected and is no cause for alarm. Less than 1 percent of all patients develop severe bleeding or an infection of the prostate or urinary tract
