When I embed I try to do it neatly to avoid excess paraffin on the edge of 
the cassette but all cassettes do not fit tightly on all brands of 
embedding molds and drips and leaks are inevitable. Formerly I thought that 
a cassette was a cassette was a cassette and similarly for all brands of 
embedding molds but I found out that I was wrong. Surgipath cassettes 
placed on Tissue-tek molds are not a tight fit - I mean they will work but 
not as well as surgipath cassettes and surgipath molds and tissue tek 
cassettes with tissue tek molds. That silly millimeter counts here when you 
are talking about having excess paraffin around the cassette. We just have 
both brands of molds in their various sizes to use with the various 
cassettes we use from different vendors.
Andi





>This may sound pretty simplistic but why do you have excess paraffin on the
>edge of the cassettes to begin with?  I have found that if I embed carefully
>there is almost never any excess paraffin to begin with.  If I accidentally
>bump the cassette as I am placing it on the cold plate then I may have some
>but usually they are clean.
>
>Jeanine Bartlett, HT(ASCP)
>Centers for Disease Control
>Infectious Disease Pathology Activity
>1600 Clifton Road, MS/G-32
>Atlanta, GA 30333
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ian clarke [mailto:clarke.ian@virgin.net]
>Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 5:05 PM
>To: Histonet
>Subject: Re trimming round edge of cassette
>
>
>Hi all,
>Iam looking to see what techniques people use to remove the excess wax from
>around the cassette after embedding and before trimming.We use at present a
>blunted scalpel  but we have been told there may be a risk from needle stick
>type injury. Thanks to all in advance Ian Clarke
>Histopathology/Cytopathology CAH

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: Andrea Grantham, HT(ASCP)     Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy     :
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