Outcome of incisional biopsy under local anesthesia in palpable musculoskeletal tumors in an outdoor setting in terms of conclusive evidence of pathology.

Abstract

Objective: To determine frequency of conclusive results of OPD based incisional biopsy under local anesthesia in patients of palpable musculoskeletal tumors. Study Design: Cross-sectional Descriptive study. Setting: Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad. Period: Five months (September’25 to January’26). Methods: A total of 65 patients aged 18–55 years of either gender presenting with clinically and radiologically confirmed palpable musculoskeletal tumors of the upper and lower limbs were included using non-probability consecutive sampling. Patients with previously biopsied lesions, non-palpable or small lesions, pelvic or spinal tumors, infected or fungating masses, bleeding disorders, or contraindications to local anesthesia were excluded. Incisional biopsy was performed in the OPD under strict aseptic conditions using 2% lignocaine. Tissue samples were submitted for histopathological examination. A biopsy yielding a definitive benign or malignant diagnosis was considered conclusive. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, and results were expressed as frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Stratification was applied to control effect modifiers. Results: Among the 65 patients, 36 (55.4%) were aged 18–40 years and 29 (44.6%) were aged 41–55 years. Males constituted 36 patients (55.4%), while females accounted for 29 patients (44.6%). Lower limb lesions were observed in 48 patients (73.8%), and upper limb lesions in 17 patients (26.2%). Conclusive biopsy results were obtained in 59 patients (90.8%), whereas 6 patients (9.2%) had inconclusive results. Of the conclusive biopsies, benign tumors were identified in 43 patients (72.9%) and malignant tumors in 16 patients (27.1%). No statistically significant association was found between biopsy outcome and age, gender, lesion site, comorbidities, or histopathological diagnosis. Conclusion: OPD-based incisional biopsy under local anesthesia provides a high rate of conclusive histopathological diagnosis in patients with palpable musculoskeletal tumors and represents a reliable and practical diagnostic approach in resource-limited settings.