We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Below we will list the departments and units that form part of Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the main diseases that we treat. We will also make recommendations based on advice backed up by scientific evidence that has been shown to be effective in guaranteeing well-being and quality of life.
Vols saber com serà la teva estada a l’Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron? Aquí trobaràs tota la informació.
Kidney biopsy is an essential diagnostic procedure in the field of nephrology. Kidney disease has a noticeable effect on a patient's general health and can also be detected by the blood and urine tests taken. Imaging tests (renal ultrasound, CT scan and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging) provide information for diagnosing kidney disease, but the essential and indisputable test to be able to reach a diagnosis of kidney disease is a kidney biopsy.
This consists of extracting a very small sample of kidney tissue, just a millimetre or so in size, with a special needle. The needle is guided by ultrasound and under local anaesthetic with or without sedation, depending on the characteristics of the patient.
The sample obtained is processed by the Pathological Anatomy Department for observation using optical microscope, fluorescence microscope and electronic microscope techniques. This enables different parts of the kidney to be observed: the glomerulus, the tubule, and the blood vessels. Special liquids can also be used to reveal infections and toxicity produced by different medicines.
This is very useful both for diagnosing disease in the kidneys themselves, as well as a test to monitor a kidney transplant.
Although a kidney biopsy is not without complications worth mentioning, they occur rarely and can be resolved. Urine may contain blood, for example, although this generally stops by itself. Renal haematoma may also occur, which also does not require treatment. Accidental communication between an artery and a vein may also occur, which can be repaired via catheterization to close the anomalous communication.
Kidney biopsy is a common procedure in the Nephrology Department and complications occur in around 1-2% of cases, which are subsequently resolved. It is therefore considered a safe routine procedure.
Select the newsletter you want to receive:
By accepting these conditions, you are agreeing to the processing of your personal data for the provision of the services requested through this portal, and, if necessary, for any procedures required by the administrations or public bodies involved in this processing, and their subsequent inclusion in the aforementioned automated file. You may exercise your rights to access, rectification, cancellation or opposition by writing to web@vallhebron.cat, clearly stating the subject as "Exercising of Data Protection Rights". Operated by: Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron - Institut Català de la Salut. Purpose: Manage the user’s contact information. Legitimisation: Express acceptance of the privacy policy. Rights: To access, rectify, and delete personal information data, as well to the portability thereof and to limit and/or oppose their use. Source: The interested party themselves.