Giant Cell Arteritis / Temporal Arteritis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an inflammatory condition of the blood vessels. Symptoms associated with this condition include vision loss, scalp tenderness, pain while chewing, fevers, weight loss, and joint pain. If your physician suspects you have giant cell arteritis, you will be sent for blood work, started on medication and scheduled for a temporal artery biopsy. A temporal artery biopsy is an in-office procedure where a sample of the temporal artery is removed for pathologic evaluation under local anesthesia to confirm the diagnosis.