Systemic amyloidosis diagnosed by labial salivary gland biopsy.
Fiona Lam Guan, Conor O'Gorman, Simon Rajendran et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A man in his 60s presented with acute decompensating heart failure and was initially evaluated for cardiac amyloidosis. Due to difficulties in obtaining a tissue sample, he was referred for a labial salivary gland biopsy, which revealed amyloid deposits. This led to a confirmed diagnosis of amyloid light-chain amyloidosis, highlighting the utility of this biopsy method.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Labial salivary gland biopsy is a minimally invasive and effective diagnostic tool for systemic amyloidosis, particularly when other tissue sampling methods are challenging.