Before You Leave After a Skin Biopsy: Your Home-Care Checklist

If you are ready to leave the clinic but unsure what you are meant to do at home, ask the nurse to go through the instructions with you. Use this checklist to collect your own team’s plan before you put the paperwork away.

First, know when to get help

Contact a clinician promptly if the wound becomes very painful, hot, swollen or leaks green or milky yellow fluid. Redness may be harder to see on brown or black skin. Seek emergency care for uncontrollable bleeding that continues after 15 minutes of firm pressure over the dressing.¹

Save your clinic’s contact details and its out-of-hours advice. If a concerning change is already happening, seek care before completing the checklist.

Confirm the dressing plan

Guy’s and St Thomas’ advises keeping the dressing dry for 48 hours or longer according to the nurse’s instructions, then following its washing, drying, ointment and dressing routine.¹

• Ask the nurse to write down when your dressing should come off and when washing can begin.
• Confirm what you should use on this particular wound, how to apply it and which dressing to use afterward.
• Check that you have the supplies or know where to obtain them.
• Ask for clarification if the written sheet and spoken instructions differ.

Settle the stitch arrangements

Non-dissolvable stitches need removal. Guy’s and St Thomas’ asks patients to arrange this in advance with their GP surgery and provides a letter. Some patients return to the clinic for wound care.¹

• Ask whether you have stitches and whether they dissolve or need removal.
• Write down who will handle removal, the date and how to book it.
• Keep any letter or appointment instructions together.

Check the medicine instructions

The hospital advises checking that pain medicines do not interact with other medicines and asking a pharmacist when unsure or when medicine allergies are present.¹

• Ask what pain relief your team recommends for you, including the dose and limits.
• Show them your medicine list and mention allergies.
• Request clarification about any prescribed wound product.

Make a results plan

• Confirm who will explain the biopsy result and how they will contact you.
• Ask when to expect that contact and whom to call if it has not arrived.
• Keep the result discussion separate from any stitch-removal appointment in your notes so you remember to ask about both.

Keep the plan accessible

Skin, Head to Toe includes a visit script and a red-flag list. Use the visit script to organize the questions you want answered, then keep the clinic’s written care instructions with your appointment details.