RE: Micro-chatters in gastric biopsies

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From:"Jennings-Siena, Debbie" <ds.jennings-siena@baylordallas.edu>
To:"'Hall, Phil'" <Phil.Hall@ubht.swest.nhs.uk>, "'Histonet'" <HistoNet@pathology.swmed.edu>
Reply-To:
Date:Fri, 30 Jul 1999 10:55:55 -0500
Content-Type:text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi Phil,
>From what I hear, I believe that you are describing a processing artifact.
Are you processing all of your specimens together in a single processor?  If
so, then you are overprocessing the gastric biopsies and removing all of the
bound water from the tissues.  There are several articles about this
artifact written, I believe that Lee Luna best described it.  If possible, I
would suggest that you try processing the GI's  and other small biopsy
specimens separate from the rest of the stuff.  I will try to locate the
articles if you would like.  Here at Baylor, we process all of our GI's  on
an open style processor and I only set the times in each station for 15
minutes.  I hope that this will help.  
Debbie Jennings-Siena
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
214-820-2465 

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Hall, Phil [SMTP:Phil.Hall@ubht.swest.nhs.uk]
	Sent:	Friday, July 30, 1999 8:30 AM
	To:	'Histonet'
	Subject:	Micro-chatters in gastric biopsies

	Does anyone see microscopic chatters (cracks parallel to the knife
edge) in
	endoscopy biopsies (approx 0.2cm diameter)?  

	We have been seeing these in our paraffin sections of these biopsies
so
	badly that the Pathologists sometimes complain it makes diagnosis
difficult.
	We do not seem to have any problems with large tissue blocks or
bone.  We
	cut sections at 3 microns using a manual rotary microtome with
disposable
	S35 blades.  
	So far we have done the following to try to stop this happening:

	changed microtome - including buying a new one
	changed blades - including using a different supplier
	changed the microtome knife angle
	cut them slower and faster
	cut them very cold or warm
	let them float on the water bath for longer or picked them up
straight away

	Any other ideas?


	Phil Hall
	Paediatric Pathology
	St Michael's Hospital
	BRISTOL
	UK



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