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After biopsy, how long to wait for mp-MRI?

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Posted 7/20/2014 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
DH had a biopsy at end of June, and now has to schedule an mp-MRI. If we're going to do this, we want it to be the most accurate as possible. And I understand that inflammation from the biopsy can distort things. (My understanding anyway.) If you had a post-biopsy MRI, how long after biopsy did you wait to have the MRI?

Thanks,
Melaine

DH Age 50
PSA 1.7
Palpable mass on DRE (initially) but now barely felt? Staging went from T2b to T2a/T1c
First path report: 1 of 12 positive, 3+4=7 (50%)
Second opinion path report: 3 of 12 positive, 3+4=7 (50%)
Posted 7/20/2014 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
Good question, my surgeon required my prostate to heal for several weeks after biopsy before he would complete the surgery....I'm thinking it was 4 or 5 weeks. I'd believe the same would hold for advanced imaging.
Hero
Posted 7/21/2014 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
Melaine, I was told to wait at least six weeks after my most recent biopsy to get an MRI. It ended up being about 8 weeks.
Posted 7/21/2014 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Melaine, mine was much sooner (10 days if I recall correctly) and had clear artifacts from biopsy related bleeding. In certain views you could even still sort of see the biopsy needle tracks. However, we were looking mainly for a few specifics and they were still rather visible. I had a nasty G9 biopsy result, and it was clear the horses were possibly out of the barn already (and maybe kicking down the fences). So. my 3TMRI was primarily for staging and needed to be done very quickly. Even with the biopsy artifacts, it was still rather clear what was happening. Surgery wasn't a good option.

I've heard the range of 6-8 weeks too, 12 being better. That's quite a long time to wait if you have a high risk case, but with low risk cases it's probably just fine. I suppose it somewhat depends on how critical the info is, and what you're trying to see. In my case, time was of the essence and we didn't have 8 weeks to wait for a better picture.
Posted 7/21/2014 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
I've been reading quite a lot lately about mpMRI and have seen discussions about the risk of false positives and difficulties for the radiologist due to prostatitis, bph, scaring from previous biopsies, and a recent biopsy. Most suggest 6 to 12 weeks after biopsy. I'm considering a mpMRI and had my biopsy on June 18, so I think I'll wait until mid September if I decide to do it.
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