What precautions are needed before a prostate biopsy?

Q: I am 64 years old. For an enlarged prostate with a high serum PSA level of 18, is it necessary to get a biopsy done? If the biopsy is done, what precautions should the patient take?

A:Your PSA value of 18 is high and your urologist will have to take a decision on whether or not to do a biopsy of your prostate, depending upon ruling out other factors, which could have caused a raise in PSA. These days the technique and needle are so refined that the complications following biopsy have gone down remarkably but still one may feel pain, some bleeding in urine and fever.