Hi Histonetters!

I really need your help on this one.....

I got a lung wedge resection in for IHC stains.....everything stayed on but my CD117 which uses a heat retrieval (Tris-Urea Buffer pH9.5 in steamer)......it kept falling off no matter if I increased the drying time (up to 2hrs 60C and then room temp over nite)....used new retrieval buffer...nothing helped.  Even tried different blocks thinking maybe it was the tissue itself. The pathologist assured me it was properly fixed and sent for processing (in our lab).  I was never able to get anything to stay on and the pathologist sent out his report without the CD117.

OK....I got past that, and everything else in the lab went fine with tissue staying on when I did other CD117s...when low and behold it happened again!  When I called the pathologist  (same one) to explain my predictment about not being able to do CD117.......he told me it was the same patient, but who came in for an axillary resection.  I have tried other blocks on this patient and everything that requires a heat retrieval, no matter what my retrieval buffer, FALLS OFF!!!  What is going on??........it's just this patient that is posing these problems.

FYI....staining is done on NexES or Benchmark....falls off on both instruments.

All comments welcome!

TIA

Ann



Thanks.

Ann Maruska
Fairview-University Medical Center
Mpls. MN  55454
amarusk1@fairview.org
612-273-9119