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Do I Need a Liver Biopsy If I Have Hepatitis C?

If I have hepatitis C, why do I need a liver biopsy?
 

Answer

There are several reasons why your healthcare provider might recommend you have a liver biopsy if you have hepatitis C. One is to check for other liver problems (it's possible to have other liver problems on top of hepatitis C). Another is to see how badly your liver has been damaged.
 
Also, a pre-treatment liver biopsy can help guide your doctor in choosing the best treatment, and sometimes, the biopsy results suggest that treatment is unnecessary or unlikely to be helpful. A pre-treatment biopsy can also be used as a benchmark to compare to other liver biopsies you may have done in the future. 
 
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
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