Bone Marrow Aspirate

Bone marrow collection is a diagnostic procedure that allows us the ability to evaluate the cells of the bone marrow to diagnose abnormalities of the red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, as well as staging of some cancers. These procedures are performed under general anesthesia and are easy to complete with very rare incidents of complication. Patients can experience some discomfort post-procedure and are provided with in hospital pain management and usually are prescribed a few days of analgesics to go home with. A Bone Marrow Aspiration is always attempted first because it is the least invasive. We check the samples produced from the aspiration in hospital and if they are not diagnostic then a Bone Marrow Biopsy will be performed under the same anesthesia. The most common sites for collection of these samples is the proximal humerus, trochanteric fossa of the femur, or the iliac crest of the hip. Most patients are recommended to stay in the hospital overnight for post-procedure pain control and monitoring.