Planning the trip

One drive down, done properly.

Bakersfield is about 112 miles north of the office, down I-5 over the Grapevine. That is a real drive, so the point is to make it once and go home with the answer already moving rather than repeating it in two weeks. One visit covers the consultation, the fine needle aspiration and the reading.

01

Book the first slot of the day

Call ahead and take an early appointment. The Grapevine is at its kindest before the middle of the day, and an early start means you are home well before evening.

02

Bring the imaging you already have

Any ultrasound, mammogram or CT report from a Bakersfield clinic. It tells Dr. Nadelman what she is looking for before the needle goes anywhere.

03

The biopsy and the microscope

Ultrasound, local anesthesia, a few passes with a fine needle, then the slides are stained and read in the office lab while you are still there.

04

Drive home with it settled

If the sample is thin she takes another one the same visit rather than telling you in two weeks. Preliminary findings usually reach you within 24 hours.

Why make the drive

Two hours south, once.

Kern County has hospitals and imaging, and for plenty of things they are the right answer. A fine needle aspiration is the case where who reads the slides changes the timeline, because the reading is the diagnosis.

What the drive gets you

  • One trip instead of two. The sample and the reading happen in the same visit, so there is no second appointment to come back for.
  • The specialist holds the needle. Dr. Nadelman is board certified in cytopathology and performs the aspiration herself.
  • A thin sample caught on the day. She knows in minutes and repeats it, rather than an outside lab reporting it two weeks later.
  • Preliminary results within 24 hours. Sent to you and to your Bakersfield physician.

When the drive is not worth it

  • The lump is clearly a simple cyst. Your own doctor may be able to settle that locally with imaging alone.
  • You cannot travel. House calls are available anywhere in California, Kern County included, so ask before you rule it out.
  • It needs more tissue than a needle takes. Some diagnoses need a core or surgical biopsy, and she will say so on the day.
  • You already have a clear answer. If a prior FNA settled it, a second opinion on the existing slides may be all you need.

Ask before you drive. A short phone call establishes whether a fine needle aspiration is the right test for what your doctor found, and whether a house call makes more sense than the trip.

Fine needle aspiration in Bakersfield

What Bakersfield patients drive down for.

A fine needle aspiration uses a needle thinner than the one used to draw blood. No incision, no stitches, local anesthesia only.

Thyroid

Thyroid nodule biopsy

Only 4 to 6 percent of thyroid nodules turn out to be cancer. Ultrasound guided sampling, graded on the Bethesda system, read on site. Thyroid biopsy

Breast

Breast lump biopsy

Most breast lumps are benign. If it is a cyst, draining it with the same needle often makes the lump disappear during the visit. Breast biopsy

Lymph nodes

Lymph node biopsy

Usually a node is simply doing its job. When it is hard, fixed, or has not gone away, cells answer the question in one appointment. Lymph node biopsy

Two routes from Bakersfield

The difference is who reads your slides.

A local referral sends the sample to an outside laboratory, and the pathologist who makes the call is someone neither you nor your doctor ever speaks to. The drive south replaces that handoff with one room.

The local referral

Two visits, two specialists, two waits

  • Day 0. Referral and imaging
  • Day 3. A radiologist takes the sample
  • Day 12 to 14. Pathology report reaches your doctor
  • If the sample is short. You find out two weeks later and start over

About two weeks of waiting

With Dr. Nadelman

One appointment

One visit, one specialist, one drive

  • Day 0. Ultrasound, biopsy, slides read on site, consultation
  • Same day. If the sample is short she knows immediately and takes another
  • Within 24 hours. Preliminary results to you and your doctor
  • No second trip. You talk to the person who made the diagnosis

An answer inside of two days

If 112 miles is not possible, she comes to you.

Dr. Nadelman performs house call FNA biopsies anywhere in California, Kern County included. She brings the ultrasound and the staining setup, so a homebound patient in Bakersfield gets the same procedure and the same turnaround at home.

310.702.6701

1125 S. Beverly Drive, Suite 602
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Monday to Friday, 10 to 6

Bakersfield questions

Asked before the drive south.

How long is the drive from Bakersfield?

About 112 miles, south on I-5 over the Grapevine, and commonly around two hours depending on traffic and weather on the pass. An early appointment usually makes it a comfortable there and back in a day.

That is the point of coming here. The slides are stained and read under the microscope in the office lab while you are still there, so a thin sample is caught and repeated on the day. Preliminary findings are usually available within 24 hours and go to you and to your Bakersfield physician.

Any imaging you already have, such as an ultrasound, mammogram or CT report, plus the name of the physician you want the report sent to. A referral is not required to book, but prior imaging helps Dr. Nadelman target the sample.

It can close briefly in bad weather. If the forecast looks poor, call the office and move the appointment rather than risk the pass. Next-day slots are usually available, and a house call anywhere in California is the alternative if travel is not workable.

Worth reading before you drive up. FNA biopsy in Los Angeles, step by step, the insurance the office accepts, and the questions patients ask most. She also samples salivary gland, soft tissue and other lumps, bumps and nodules.

Near Bakersfield. She also sees patients from Visalia, Lancaster and Santa Clarita. Or see every area she covers.

One drive, one appointment, one answer.

Next-day appointments are usually available, and house calls are available anywhere in California.

310.702.6701

1125 S. Beverly Drive, Suite 602
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Monday to Friday, 10 to 6

What patients say

4.9 stars across Google and Yelp

Reviews from people who came in with a lump and left with an answer.
See video testimonials and letters from referring physicians are on the testimonials page.

CELINA NADELMAN, M.D.

  • Biopsy and interpretation by a Board Certified Cytopathologist

  • Ultrasound-guided and palpation-guided FNAs

  • Preliminary diagnosis within 24 hours in most cases

  • Next day appointments available

  • We accept most major PPO insurances and Medicare.

  • Patient and physician time savings

  • Relief of patient anxiety

  • Medical, technical and fiscal resource conservation

  • Appropriate and expeditious triage of the patient and their sample

  • Diagnostic ultrasound services

WE ARE HERE TO HELP

Request an appointment with The Cancer Biopsy Doctor, Celina M. Nadelman, M.D. today.

Did you know we do house calls in the state of California? We can travel to you anywhere in California! Speak to our office about the details.