[Histonet] Gross Photography

[Joe Nocito]

In government facilities, we are now banned from using flash drives, memory 
sticks, and other portable devices because some knucklehead at some military 
installation downloaded a nasty worm that affected many military computers 
(glad I wasn't that person, probably digging latrines in Iraq or Afghanistan 
now). This puts us in a tough spot because I was able to shoot pictures in 
the grossing room. them emailing them to the sign out pathologist. Many 
times, the path I'm grossing for is out for one reason or another and it 
helped them see the specimen before I laid blade to specimen. Now, we have 
to wait for the path to come to the grossing area or put the specimen aside 
until they can come by.

JTT
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Mihalik" <mike <@t> pathview.com>
To: "'kemlo'" <kemlo <@t> f2s.com>; "'Sate Hamza'" <dermpathsy <@t> gmail.com>; 
<histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 7:46 AM
Subject: RE: [Histonet] Gross Photography


> Just as another endorsement for this practice.  Digital images seem so
> important to us that in our information system, a hyperlink to all images 
> is
> included in case query.  Hence, you can see the image at the same time
> you're reading all the other details of the case.
>
> It's just one more piece of information that helps provide a better
> diagnosis.
>
> Michael Mihalik
> PathView Systems | cell: 214.733.7688 | 800.798.3540 | fax: 270.423.0968
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of kemlo
> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 3:01 AM
> To: 'Sate Hamza'; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: RE: [Histonet] Gross Photography
>
> As a Biomedical Scientist I agree with you totally. One of the weaknesses 
> of
> Biomedical scientists performing the 'grossing' is that the original
> evidence at dissection is lost to the Pathologist (that is until that Time
> Biomedical Scientists carry out the interpretation). Taking digital photos
> at all stages of dissection retains the evidence for the reporting
> Pathologist.
>
> I did this for many years when dissecting samples for my Pathologist; 
> saved
> drawing diagrams. I guess you'd agree that 80% of all interpretations 
> could
> be carried out by a Biomedical Scientist (Histotech) once competency is
> attained and the envelope of responsibility is agreed. It's happened in
> Cytopathology in the UK!
>
> Kemlo Rogerson MSc MIBiol CBiol CSci DMS FIBMS
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Sate Hamza
> Sent: 18 April 2009 06:37
> To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: Re: [Histonet] Gross Photography
>
> As a pathologist, I am a strong proponent of ample gross photography in 
> the
> cutting room. When I first started in my current place, I thought that not
> much gross photography was being done. This has increased in recent years 
> in
> our center. I always encourage our residents to take digital gross
> photographs. I recently bought an easy to use digital camera and gave it 
> as
> a gift to our cutting room to encourage more digital photographs.
>
> I think that the availability of easy to use digital cameras has made 
> taking
> pictures much easier. A picture is a great tool for documentation and for
> communication. No matter how skillful and expressive the gross description
> is, a picture can make things much easier for sign out. If sections need 
> to
> be mapped for margins or other considerations, one can take a digital
> picture, make a quick print out of it and map the sections on it. Such
> pictures are so helpful, for example, for excisions of flat pigmented
> lesions from sun-damaged skin. Gross-microscopic correlation can help so
> much in assessing margin status (this can be so difficult with microscopy
> alone). It also helps in excisions of vulvar lesions/tumors and in
> irregularly shaped complex excisions from any site.
>
> The digital photos can be taken quickly. They do not need to be textbook
> quality. The goal usually is to facilitate communication and facilitate 
> the
> sign-out process.
>
> The pictures that our PAs take are placed on a network server in folders
> that are named with the accession number. The printouts with sections 
> mapped
> are kept in a binder in the cutting room where a pathologist can find them
> when the need arises.
>
> Sate
>
> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 6:30 PM, Joe Nocito <jnocito <@t> satx.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> like Mike,
>> we only photograph unusual specimens. Seems photographing specimens has
>> become less and less important. Kind of like autopsies.
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Sate Hamza, MD, FRCPC
> Dermatopathologist
> Winnipeg, Canada
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