[Histonet] Cautery-Like Artefact

[Tony Henwood (SCHN)]

Hi Roger,

If I may refer to my earlier post:

"Another cause of anomalous staining is drying of the biopsy prior to fixative immersion.
This can result in non-specific immunohistochemical staining as well as sub-optimal histochemical staining."

Drying of the edges of biopsies, like skin, can result in morphology not unlike that seen after cautery.
I have also seen it in biopsies that had been inadvertently placed on "alcowipes"  (pads soaked in alcohol used for disinfecting skin prior to procedures) as well as biopsies placed on absorbent filter-like  cards.


Regards 
Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC), FFSc(RCPA) 
Laboratory Manager & Senior Scientist 
Tel: 612 9845 3306 
Fax: 612 9845 3318 
the children's hospital at westmead
Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead
Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA 

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Heyna
Sent: Tuesday, 20 August 2013 6:55 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Cautery-Like Artefact

We are experiencing a staining artefact on our H&E's, most commonly seen on skin specimens, but also observed on other specimen types as well. 
 
Within the dermis and subcutaneous regions of the skin specimens, there are portions of what should be collagen that appear homogenized and stained with hematoxylin, instead of the usual eosin staining. It's often on the edge of the section and varies in size between different specimens. The pathologist is normally able to read around it, but there have been cases that were made more difficult to diagnosis by this artefact.
 
Our pathologists believe this artefact resembles cautery artefact, but the dermatologists insist they are not using cautery during collection. 
 
We have a large derm service, and most of our derm specimens fix overnight. We have both microwave and conventional processing, and the "artefact" specimens have been processed on both. All of these specimens have grossing ink on them.
 
Any thoughts on what could be causing this? If it's not cautery, does it seem like a fixation issue? Has anyone seen grossing ink affect processing?
 
Thanks ahead of time for your help.
Roger

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