[Histonet] Cassettes and Processing and Fixation ~ Oh My!

[Jones, Laura]

Hi all.  We are having a discussion here about everything in my subject line, but to be more specific:

1.  Do you all use different types of cassettes for different sizes of tissues?  We have screen cassettes for prostate biopsies, and biopsy cassettes for skins, and regular flow through type for larger-than-they-should-be pieces that have grid marks on them.

2.  When you load your cassettes on the processor, do you use the "organized" basket that spaces them out or the "random" basket?  If you use the "random" method, how tightly do you feel the cassettes can be packed?  Isn't it true that if they are packed too tightly, the fixation of the tissue will be compromised?  And, how does everyone use agitation/stirring on the processor?  We have always used it, but are wondering how others are doing things.

3.  Finally, for a run of combination tissues as described above, what would be your recommended time in formalins?  We know all Pathologists are in a hurry for slides, but is a 5 minute station ever acceptable?

This is all a result of weeks of discussion about possible changes we could make here, and varying things we have learned over the years... we'd just like to hear what everyone else is doing.  For instance: would it be simpler to use biopsy cassettes for everything?  Should we consider using the random basket instead of the organized one?  How far back could we cut our processing times to expedite things?  We'd really appreciate the input of all you experts.  Thanks in advance!