What the risks are:

The risks are related to the procedure used to obtain the specimen.

See:

• Amniocentesis
• Bone marrow biopsy
• Chorionic villus sampling
• Venipuncture

In some cases, an abnormality may occur as the cells as growing in the lab dish. Karyotype tests should be repeated to confirm that an abnormal chromosome problem is actually in the body of the patient.

Special considerations:

Chemotherapy may cause chromosome breaks that affect normal karotyping results. See: Mosaicism

Your doctor may also order a test called telomeres that looks at the ends of the chromosomes. It is often ordered along with the karyotyping test.