Good Morning Lovelies, 

In the middle of June, I went for a tongue biopsy, which I am still awaiting the results of. Yet, as I wait for them, I thought I would share with you all what the operation entailed, to help those of you who may be about to have the same procedure. 

Having been seen by an oral consultant back in February 2026, I was placed onto the waiting list for a biopsy after a long period of white patches on my tongue, which come and go. After a little wait, I was given an appointment to have the operation on the 11th June at Barnet Hospital. 

Booking Passenger Transport, I was up bright and early on the day, as I was collected around an hour before my appointment. Heading off, the ambulance driver kept me calm and relaxed, as I had to go to the hospital on my own, due to my mum working. In no time at all, we reached the clinic, where I booked in and waited to be called. 

My operation was due to be done at 10am but due to being a little early, I was greeted at 9:45am by the doctor and her team to start the procedure. Invited to sit on the chair, which was the exact same as those at the dentist, I was talked through what I had come in for, the risks and details of what was involved before signing a consent form. 

The doctor and leading nurse then lent me back to take a look at the area before deciding where they would take the sample from. Giving me a funky pair of glasses to wear to protect my eyes from the bright overhead light, the doctor soon numbed the chosen spot with local anesthetic. I won’t lie, the first few injections stung a little, but not too much. 

Leaving the medicine to set in, the team took the time to book me in for a follow up appointment, which was done so quickly, before coming back to check the area was numb. With everything all set, the nurse softly held my tongue, as the leading doctor used the punch method to do the sample. 

Due to the wide patching, she took a deep sample, but I didn’t feel a thing. Pulling out the tissue with some tweezers, it was quickly placed into a sample bottle with some liquid to preserve it before being transported to the lab. As the second nurse in the room did this, the doctor and leading nurse got to work with stitching me back up. 

Again, I didn’t feel anything at all during this process and after around eight stitches everything was sorted. After a few pieces of advice about how to handle the area over the next few days, I was free to go, with a few pieces of gauze and information sheets in hand. 

Getting back into the ambulance, I was still very numb and if I tried to talk I dribbled everywhere, so I didn’t do that much of it. Around an hour or so after getting home, the anesthetic wore off, leading to a weird burning, itchy pain. It wasn’t awful but it was definitely uncomfortable. However, after taking a few ibuprofen, the pain was gone and I only felt something when I talked, drank or moved my tongue in any way. Something that lasted for a few days. 

Getting a tongue biopsy may seem scary but I promise you that with the right team and advice, care and management, it is not too bad at all. The hardest bit for me has been waiting for the answer but with the reassurances from the team before I left the surgery, I am taking every moment of it one step at a time. There is really no point getting tongues wagging whilst I wait aha! 

Joey X