[Histonet] Silver staining technique

[bamoe <@t> gundluth.org]

Hi all -

A question has come up in our laboratory regarding silver staining
technique.

We currently run special stains manually.  For the GMS silver stain,
control tissue is run on a separate slide from the patient tissue. During
the silver step  (we use a microwave for heating) the control slide is
checked microscopically for adequate development.

The question is this:

If the control tissue is developed to satisfaction of the technician, do
you automatically remove the patient slides from the silver and continue on
with the procedure,  OR do you individually check each patient slide,
giving some more time in the silver solution if needed?

Any and all comments are welcome!

Thank you!

Barb Moe
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
La Crosse WI