Histopathological examination – should you be afraid?

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Histopathological examination involves the processing and viewing of tissue material under a microscope, which aims to assess and diagnose changes, e.g. neoplastic tissues. Such a test is much more effective than, for example, a smear test, as it allows for a more accurate assessment of lesions. Such a test takes about three days and the waiting time for the result is on average two weeks.

It is a microscopic examination of the material taken from the patient to assess the nature of the disease process. Histopathological examination is of particular use in the diagnosis of neoplastic diseases, and is characterized by a really high degree of effectiveness. Thanks to its results, the doctor can make a better decision regarding the extent of the surgery, because he has data on the type of cancer and its degree of malignancy.

Indications for the examination

The indications for the tests are: diagnosis of neoplastic diseases, inflammatory and degenerative diseases and monitoring the progress of the disease process and treatment, obtaining material for other tests, screening. The result should be reported to the doctor. It shows the histopathological form of the neoplastic lesion and its degree of malignancy.

To conduct a histopathological examination, it is necessary to conduct a biopsy. A section of the affected tissue is collected in it, but the method depends on the place from where it should be collected. Local anesthesia is the most commonly used, and general anesthesia in the case of children.

In addition to the aforementioned biopsy, one of the following methods can be used to collect histopathological material:

  1. frozen preparations;
  2. colored preparations;
  3. exfoliative cytology;
  4. fine needle aspiration biopsy;
  5. open biopsy;
  6. oligobiopsy;
  7. drill biopsy;
  8. intraoperative biopsy;
  9. blur

Histopathological examination of the fetus after miscarriage

The histopathological examination of the fetus consists in examining the fetal tissue under a microscope. Such a test will not find the cause of the miscarriage, but it is to confirm that the curettage procedure was performed correctly.

If it is not a diagnostic opening of the abdominal cavity, the biopsy lasts from a few to several minutes. The histopathological examination itself, which involves processing the material and viewing it under a microscope, takes about three days, and you usually need to wait about two weeks for the results.

There are generally no special indications for preparation. All bleeding tendencies, anticoagulant medications, allergies to painkillers or disinfectants should be reported to doctors. In the case of pregnancy, it should also be reported to the doctor before the examination.

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