People, medicine and technology

What do pathologists do? Frozen section

Part 1: Frozen section

Sometimes the surgeon needs an answer while the patient is still in the operating room.

That is where a frozen section can help. A small piece of tissue is rapidly frozen, cut into very thin sections, placed on a slide and stained. The pathologist examines it under the microscope and gives the surgeon an answer that can help guide the operation.

The linked video shows one step before the slide exists: preparing tissue in a cryostat, the refrigerated instrument used to cut frozen sections.

The preparation and the interpretation are different jobs, and both matter. A histotechnologist may prepare the slide. Sometimes the pathologist makes the slides themselves. Either way, the pathologist has to understand the question being asked, examine the tissue and communicate what the findings mean.

Speed does not mean we can answer every question. Frozen tissue has limitations. The more detailed examination on permanent sections remains important, and sometimes the safest answer is to wait for that work rather than force a diagnosis during surgery.

This is one of the ways pathologists care for patients who may never meet us. We work with the surgical team while decisions are still being made.

Doctor's Doc MD is starting a series on what pathologists do: frozen sections, slide review, laboratory and CLIA directorship, autopsy, and grossing with our pathologists' assistant colleagues. More to come.

Watch the original clip: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1069806925916324 Credit: Histo Gallery Bd. Linked for reference; not rehosted.

Reference: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/diagnosis/pathology-reports-fact-sheet

For education only. This page does not offer personal medical advice.