[Biopsy of the temporal artery in polymyalgia rheumatica].

Biopsy of the temporal artery is still the most important component in the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis. Although this is a minor surgical intervention, certain vascular complications must be considered. Therefore, preoperative Doppler sonography should be performed. Finally, to prevent false-negative results, the temporal artery should be excised bilaterally and not shorter than 4 cm.