[Histonet] as Thanksgiving approaches, what do you think about a gall bladder in vinegar ?

[Bernice Frederick]

Vinnie,
We had an issue with this concerning tonsils (the kids wanted them). We
rinsed out the excess formalin after the final sign out by a pathologist (2
weeks), patted it dry and gave the sample to them in a clean container. This
way it was fixed but they did not have the issue of formalin. I'm guessing
that 2 weeks fixation should be sufficient for everything to be fixed.
Bernice


Bernice Frederick HTL (ASCP)
Northwestern University
Pathology Core Facility
ECOGPCO-RL 
710 N Fairbanks Court
Olson 8-421
Chicago,IL 60611
312-503-3723


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Della
Speranza, Vinnie
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 4:37 PM
To: histonet
Subject: [Histonet] as Thanksgiving approaches, what do you think about a
gall bladder in vinegar ?

I have a patient requesting her gall bladder be returned to her for
religious reasons.
The premise I've been given is so that, upon death, the patient may be
stored with her body parts.

My facility has concerns about providing it to her in formalin (for obvious
reasons) or alcohol. The patient admits this is a family practice with
momma's appendix already being stored in the attic.

It can get a bit toasty warm here in the South so attic storage of a
specimen in alcohol may not be prudent and I can't be absolutely certain it
wouldn't burn the house down, another potential liability for my
institution.

I'm tempted to give it to her in food grade vinegar, to avoid the potential
liabilities from using anything that could be considered hazardous.
Assuming that returning her gall bladder is a given, what do you think of
using vinegar for this purpose?



Vinnie Della Speranza

Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services

Medical University of South Carolina

165 Ashley Avenue  Suite 309

Charleston, South Carolina 29425

Tel: (843) 792-6353

Fax: (843) 792-8974

_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet