Bone Marrow (cont.)

What are the risks of a bone marrow procedure?

Different individuals feel the pain caused by injection of the local anesthetic and the remainder of the procedure to a variable extent. There may be dull soreness for a day or two. Significant complications are very unusual but can include bleeding, infection, and prolonged pain. Rare fatalities have been reported, usually during sternal marrows when the needle has penetrated the sternum and cut one of the arteries on the surface of the heart.

Last Editorial Review: 1/26/2011

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/bone_marrow/article.htm