Oral surgery - Lip Biopsy

Why do I need a lip biopsy?

A lip biopsy is an important test to help confirm whether you may have Sjögren’s syndrome.

This test alone does not make the diagnosis, other tests may need to be carried out and the results along with your symptoms will confirm whether you do or don’t have Sjögren’s syndrome.

What is being biopsied?

You have around 1,000 minor salivary glands in the lining of your mouth.

These glands produce saliva to keep your mouth moist. The biopsy will take around 5-8 minor salivary glands from just underneath the lining of your lower lip.

You can feel these glands if you rub your tongue over the inside of your lower lip. The glands feel like cobblestones.

What are the risks?

• There is a small risk that you will develop numbness at or near the biopsy site on the inside of your mouth. This numbness is usually temporary; however, in rare cases this can be permanent
• A small scar may form at the site of biopsy which can be numb
• There is a risk that the biopsy tissue may not be enough because:

1. There is a lack of glands at the biopsy site, the surgeon would not know this beforehand only as the biopsy is being carried out.
2. A good amount of tissue is taken, but the lab can only find a small amount of right type of tissue in the sample. The surgeon would not be aware of this with their naked eye during the actual biopsy.

• You may experience bleeding, swelling or pain

How is the procedure carried out?

The lower lip is held outwards so that the inside lining is visible.

Local anaesthetic is injected into the area to make it numb.

A small cut - 1.5 cm is made, the minor glands are located and then removed. The nerve fibres are carefully located and protected during the biopsy to avoid injury to them.

The biopsy site is closed with 3-4 stitches. These stitches should dissolve within one week.

The biopsy tissue is sent to the lab and examined under a microscope.

What to expect afterwards

Immediately after the biopsy, your lip will feel very large and numb due to the local anaesthetic injection. This feeling will wear off within 1 hour.

You may feel some pain once the numbness wears off. If you have pain, we recommend applying some ice to the area to decrease the swelling. Do this by wrapping some ice cubes or an ice pack in a towel and holding it on the area for 10 minutes. Do not apply ice directly to the lips - this will cause soreness or even mild frost bite.

If applying ice does not help take some Paracetamol or Ibuprofen.

Post biopsy instructions

You may drink immediately after your biopsy, please make sure you let hot drinks cool down

You may eat approximately 2 hours after the biopsy. Avoid eating hard, chewy foods; eat softer foods for 1 week.

The day after your biopsy gargle or swish your mouth with a saltwater mouth rinse after eating. Do this after each meal and until the stitches have dissolved

If bleeding occurs, apply pressure to the area for 10 minutes using the gauze provided. If the bleeding persists, please contact:

Contact details

Appointment enquiries - 0161 206 4100
Email: Oral.surgery2@nca.nhs.uk